Dear Turbo:

" How could a bad crank sensor cause a kick back when starting. Wouldn't a bad sensor cause a no start condition???? "

My understanding of the problem is that it is like a car with a bad timing setting. If the setting happens to be that it gets the spark too early it kicks. If the timing is way too late it wont start. The problem with the sensor isn't that it doesn't read the position at all, it's that it reads it incorrectly.

Len