The main fuel filter for this vehicle will be under the car, approximately beneath the part of the floorpan where the rear seat is located. The filter will be an inline unit and to remove it you need to remove the fuel line from each end of the filter and undo the bracket that holds the filter in place.

But here’s a warning: Often, there will be residual pressure inside the fuel line that may cause fuel to spray everywhere when you disconnect the lines. So wear eye protection, or de-pressurise the fuel system by removing the fuse for the fuel pump and cranking the engine a few times before disconnecting the filter.

It won’t be the distributor or the spark plugs. If it happens when you turn the key to the start position to crank the engine it could be the starter solenoid.

It sounds to me like a fault with the transmission ECU. By turning the engine off and restarting you are rebooting the computer, which suggests it's a fault with the computer.