This problem has been reported several times, way back in July with new users not being able to find reverse and I fell for exactly the same glitch when I first downloaded and started CCD. I was stuck in the car park for 20 minutes!
Eventually you figure out that the 5 speed box that comes with the full G27 Logitech wheel system works great on manual, but CCD doesn't appear to be able to recognise it at all properly in auto mode, or at least not in any usable manner. If you persevere you might get some auto joy of sorts, but then the manual settings are totally trashed!
The way we got around it was to designate a steering wheel push button to "Neutral" in the controls and this gives us P "park" when pressed ( WTF!), so the car will start ( remember to press the brake pedal at every shift/ direction change or it won't register) and then with the gearbox positioned in second gear, we then push and hold a second designated steering wheel button to reverse the car and applying the brake pedal again, then puts us back into D "forward drive" again. It aint pretty!
Im not really sure here, but Ive paid $300 for the very popular and very good G27 wheel, pedals and gearbox set up, which because of a known ongoing fault in the CCD programme, makes it utter nonsense to use on half the cars we drive. We crash a lot, we need reverse a lot, we swap between manual trucks and auto cars a lot and this programme glitch really lets itself down when you get other people in to drive your simulator and they can't even reverse off the first barrier they hit without holding and pushing selected buttons. They kind of look at you odd and ask:
"Why doesn't the gearbox knob work?"
Please, what should I tell them?
Also all G27 wheels come with a 180 degree default wheel setting, not 900 degrees which makes the drive feel much smoother and more realistic. The default settings give very sharp, over corrective, jerky steering until resolved in the Logitech program settings, which are slightly buried too, so good luck.