Greetings Oh-Knowledgeable-Ones!

I've had my D for almost 10 years. For the last couple it's had minor cold/warm start issues which have grown worse over time. Through troubleshooting I've checked out the thermotime switch / cold start valve, replaced the accumulator, replaced the ignition oil and checked electrical grounds / connections-- I'm sure that's not all but that's all I can think of at the moment. Still, after a few attempts it would always eventually start... until yesterday.

After trying to start it a few times yesterday, I got the car to idle at low RPMs as long as I held the accelerator just a tad. Then I noticed white smoke was pouring out of the exhaust.

Do you guys think this is a clear case of a bad head gasket? If that's the cause, then I guess it was making it hard to start in the past as it was a slow leak.

Thank you for the help here, I really appreciate it.