Engine dies in reverse

Hi Guys, I'm a newbie. This is all new to me so please bear with me. I have an 03 TDI Jetta wagon with a manual tranny. Starts and runs fine, I put it in reverse and it dies. All the lights on the dash go out, it's like I shut off the ignition switch. I tested the back-up switch and it is good. I disconnect the back-up switch and it runs in reverse. My question is, what is controlled by the back-up switch that would kill the ignition? Where do I go from here? This started out as an intermittent problem. It is no longer intermittent. Thanks for your input!

we are all Dying in reverse, its called living lol
no seriously you probably have a short somewhere, but defiantly an electrical problem, the reveres switch goes to the taillights. not sure how a grounding short would cause the ignition switch to shut off.

I have the same issue on my 05 golf tdi 5mt. Only started having the issue after cleaning my ignition switch with wd40. Now it ALWAYS dies when I go into reverse, and it’s not even when I release the clutch, just the act of moving the stick to reverse kills it, leading me to doubt that it’s related to engine movement and has to be electrical. I will buy a new ignition switch I guess so I don’t back over someone and get sued for not having reverse lights.