odd problem on start up

Had this problem this morning on start up. Any input would be helpful
Car: 92 W140 M116 engine 110K By the book maint.
On start up this monring, the car stated as usual [ambient temp 40 farenheit] but idled at about 500 rpm. the ASR light was illuminated on the dash. when I gave the throttle a little nudge the throttle went down but the engine speed did not increase until another moment later when it revved very quickly to catch up the the position of the throttle pedal. I switched it back into park and shut t off and restarted it and it started as normal and ran fine. I drove the car about 1.5 miles and stopped for about 5 minutes and when I restarted the car, same problem. only this time, I was trying to drive the car and it simply would not move. I would depress the throttle and there would be no increase in engine speed until it would catch and spin the tires momenterily. I then shut it off, reselected park and restarted the car and it was OK again. I think the ASR illumination has something to do with this as the car behaves as if it was not getting traction in slippery conditions. I have only experienced the movement of the pedal with no result in very snowy conditions. I'm baffeled! Any BTDT's would be helpful.
TIA,
Chris