BMW Repair: Poor starting and rough idle, fuel pressure, pressure test

Question
I have a 1997 520i E39 auto with M52 engine.
Recently and for the first time the engine stalled when I stopped at a junction. Re-starting was not as good as normal. Since then the car is hard to start and runs really rough with a hesitation on pickup. Since I got the car 2 years ago it has always smelled of fuel when starting from cold. The car has no modifications and has been regularly serviced.
Any ideas?

Answer
You need a fuel pressure test done.
the fact that you are smelling fuel is very bad.  you need to fugure out where the fuel is comeing out.  I am assumeing you have an engine light on?  have the codespulled if this is so.  if not, the first step is to trace every line back from the engine to the fuel tank.   the reason your having hesitation problems sounds to me like your fuel pressure is not up to poessure which could mean a restriction in the fuel line, a bad fuel filter (or two) or possibly a bad pump.  first step is to check the fuel pressure, if it were low, the symptoms would match the problem that you are encountering.  with such a limited amount of info it's hard to tell exactly whats wrong.  Have it put on a 5 gas analizer and see if it's running rich or lean.  let me know more and I'll do the same ;)
-cheers