i have a 97 honda accord 5spd f23a (it is a jdm one but i don't think there is any diff between that and the usdm for the f23 motor)

Anyways its been working fine and randomly it wont start before i couldnt figure it out i just played with stuff and it started runnning.
So when it happens it is a no crank no start you can hear a relay clicking when you turn the key but the starter solenoid does not. when you put it into reverse and try to start it it turns over and starts. i even verified this the next time the issue happened i held the key in the crank position and put the shifter through the gears when i hit reverse it started.

im a little confused im guessing it has a switch in the trans thats not right? im trying to troubleshoot.

 

There is no correlation to what gear it's in to being able to start the car. The clutch switch is the only mechanism that is required allow the car to start since you have a stickshift. This really sounds like a main relay or ignitor issue, if not an ignition switch issue. What's probably happening is that the time it takes you to run through the gears is allowing something to cool down enough to allow it to function properly again.