Reverse intermittently doesn't work

[Silverstreak]

Since we had been smelling a plastic smell recently in my 2006 lifted TXT series cart, I made sure the battery bolts were tight and I took the cover off the controller and made sure all those connections were good. Nothing looked suspicious except for one covering on the end of one cable to the controller. It may just have been old. I picked part of it off. But the connection was fine.

I also cleaned the controller of dirt and cobwebs. OOPS. I just looked at a diagram and I'm calling the F/R thing the controller.

Then I drove it around the property (wooded) and went to back it up and reverse didn't work. (This happened to me once before). I could still hear the click of the controller.......just no backing up.

I opened the seat and pushed and pulled the metal rod from the knob to the controller a couple times. Still no back up. I did it a few more times manually, and it finally would go in reverse.

Any ideas what's going on?
Thanks.