Loss of Forward motion but with Reverse still working, MAY not be a disastrous situation.
A few years ago I bought an L48 which was ok going forward but was very weak in reverse. There's a long
saga starting here about how it was eventually fixed (has been fine now for a long time).
The HST in my L48 is similar in operation to yours, being mechanically controlled without external electrical valves like the later ones.
Kubota's troubleshooting pages for HST's very often lead to "replace the unit". One reason for this is the high-precision of the mirror-finish internals. If any anything is scratched or broken the device is often not salvageable, especially in any shop that doesn't have "clean room" conditions.
A high percentage of HST functional issues are due to OUTSIDE linkage being damaged or bent. Before taking anything apart be very sure all the externally verifiable conditions line up.
To give you some slightly less menacing news, many of the quite-expensive parts inside the HST accomplish both forward and reverse motion, so if its symptom-free in reverse there's a possibility the problem is the (1) regulator, the (2) F-R reversing hydraulic cylinder, or (3) the cradle bearings. It is possible the big-dollar parts are still ok.
Unfortunately the machine will need to come apart to replace components inside the HST.
I'll try to list more links and maybe some ways to check things from the outside - more later.
Dick B.