Vapor Lock, My car died! Options

[warrenoliver]

I have searched for previous references to "vapor lock" and I found numerous references to the problem, but very few for prevention and fix.
This weekend, we finally had some summer like weather (IMG:style_emoticons/default/boldblue.gif) Temp was in the 70's and 80's. I used my 73' 2.0 (stock FI) for running a bunch of errands. The temp guage showed that the oil was warming up, but it never moved very much above the lowest line. I noticed that after my 3rd and 4th stop at stores, I had difficulty starting - it would fire right up, but then it would barely idle regardless of what I did with the accelerator - it would not respond to the accelerator at all. Some of the time it would stall, then I could restart and it would fire right up and run well.
On my way home, when I started up from a stop sign, the engine just died like it was starved for gas. It would not start even though it cranked just fine. It didn't matter what I did with the accelerator. I then did what every good thinking guy would do - I opened the engine lid and stared at it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif) The engine was still there.
After getting a ride home, I returned about an hour later with jumper cables in case I ran the battery down. I tried starting it first and of course it fired right up!
I am assuming that it is vapor lock, but I don't know how to confirm that.
The question I have is: How do I prevent this from happening again? I do know that it runs fine when the temps are cooler, but I would like to drive it this summer.
The archives mention relocating to the front, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) but I am very reluctant to do that. What else can I do to prevent this? Once it happens, is the only solution to let it sit for a while, or can I do something to get it going quickly?
Thanks.

Warrenoliver