LA small block timing is suddenly way off

Not trying to argue, I'm the novice here, but even a reverse rotation engine would have a normal rotation direction, and manually rotating in the non-normal direction would be a reverse from the intended direction. Maybe it's more of a concern with an overhead cam engine, apparently not for our LA engines. A long time ago I was also warned to never turn a clock or watch backwards, some of this may be a wive's tale.