ORIGINAL: rcxboy
Try reversing the motor connections. It might not do too good because most ESCs support less current in reverse, it'll go foward.
What are ESC's? I also notice you mention current. We charged for 8hrs for first run, and it only lasted 5minutes. charged for 8 second time, and no forward. Could this just be defective battery? Does it take more juice to go forward then reverse? I thought from the start the battery was not working right. It should last more then 5 minutes. Could a battery do this?