I've seen three way's fail internally. If an inspection shows the contacts are tight, I'd try replacing the switch. It's cheap.

The switch is the easy fix for me. 2 things....

What I am trying to avoid is bringing the ceiling fixture down. From what I describe, would a loose connection in the ceiling box cause the symptom as described?

Also on your standard 4" fluroscent fixture (this is the one I have: http://tinyurl.com/d6rnsuu)... is the connection inside the ceiling box or are the house wires fed into the fixture?

Sounds like the switch to me. Start there and then worry about the fixture.

Check your ground at that switch. Same thing happened to me and the ground was loose at that switch.

"Check your ground at that switch. Same thing happened to me and the ground was loose at that switch."

GroundING has nothing to do with switch operation.

Do you mean the neutral (groundED) conductor?

Some of the fl lights I've seen don't start reliably if they're not properly grounded.

if the grounding connection to the fixture goes through the switch box first, it's a possible cause of this issue.

Likely? I don't know so much about that, but certainly possible.