This post reads like a schizophrenic having a conversation with himself
Lets break this down and see if we can sort it out;
A] The actual problem is that his truck is hard starting from a cold start (meaning first start of the morning, not ACTUAL cold, since your in Miami).
B] Your friend turns his ignition to key-on, which then primes the fuel pump (and turns on gauges etc). Then after a few seconds, he goes to start the truck as normal.
Do I have that correct?
The first thing I'll mention is that I also prefer to go key-on first, then start the truck. I don't run any sort of check valve in my fuel system, so after a long enough time (overnight) the static pressure in the rails will bleed off. This in no way prevents the truck from running. My truck cranks over immediately regardless if I do this or not, but I choose to because I don't run an NSS for high idle.
Now on to diagnosing is actual problem; In the tune there is something called ASE, or After Start Enrichment. This basically causes the ECM to give the injectors a little bump in pulse width ,essentially the same as priming a carb. If his enrichment amount was messed with, he may have difficulty starting.
It this engine built, does it have aftermarket stuff, who tuned it?