This morning I got into my 1995 Honda Civic EX 5-speed to go to work. I started it up (normal length) and it ran for about 1-2 seconds and shut off. I started it up again and it just cranked and cranked. I thought the starter sounded a little different than normal after the original startup. Batteries aren't the culprit, the car starts to smell like gasoline if you crank it for a little bit, all the belts were recently replaced, oil's good, has 174k miles; first 'broken down' problem I've ever had. My father in law was thinking it could either be the fuel injector or maybe a crank sensor or something...
Any ideas?

If the CEL comes on and goes off after 2 seconds, when the ignition switch is turned to ON (Position II), and you can hear the fuel pump run, during this interval, then replace the Ignition Control Module (ICM) and coil:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-trucks/faq-how-troubleshoot-repair-maintain-hondas-selected-other-vehicles-46563-4.html#post265896