Well, I think that you were right on the money. Some dimwit (namely me) tried to bypass the reverse kickout switch. I did not want to cut the wires and splice them until I was more familiar with the mower. It was my father-in-law's mower. I unscrewed the switch from the frame, ran 15 to 20 rounds of electrical tape around the switch to hold the button in and then taped it up out of the way. I guess the tape would constrict and hold the button in until it the vibration and warmth allowed it to relax just enough to allow the button to disengage the deck. If we let it sit a day, it would mow again until the cycle started all over. I put it back on the frame tonight and mowed for an hour tonight (until I could see my breath - 35 degrees heading down) The next step is to actually splice the wires together 'properly', with our lawn and landscaping the kickout on reverse is obnoxious.
Thanks for the help!!!