i have a old kasea mighty mite that drives in reverse! it ran fine for a while when i bought it then died on me! did some carb work and got it running again but kept dying! but would start back up and just like that it started going backwards! it was like 1 time it would die it would run forward and die then when id start it up again it ran backwards then die start it up again and it would go forward but now it just runs backwards all the time! wth i have no idea!

 

I had a LT80 go backwards once. I had the electrical conections wrong.
Sorry, It's been a while so I cannot comment on specifics.
I do remember it was a easy fix.
I wonder if the stator is loose and sorta floating around. That would explain the normal running when it does run normal

 

so i finally dug into this lil mighty mite that my bro bought and the stator was tight but there was alot more going on w this thing! it was kick start and the left case where the kicker is was cracked around kicker shaft so was real pain to even kick over and the threads on the crankshaft on fly wheel side were stripped so we just got rid of it for parts! glad i could at least make someone elses day w that thing! it did nothing but give me a headache!