arcgis desktop - How to preserve original direction of NHD segments when creating route using gp.CreateRoutes_lr tool?

I am trying to figure out how to preserve the original line direction of NHD High Resolution data that I am selecting out and creating a route with. I'm using ArcGIS 9.3.1 and this is a python script.

I am selecting out some of the NHD streams by the ReachCode field into a new feature class (I have also tried this with a feature layer in the context of the issue I'm posting about but creating a separate feature class allowed me to debug further), and then am taking that feature class and dissolving it. I then take that dissolved NHD section and am creating a route with the gp.CreateRoutes_lr tool.

I've narrowed down the issue to the step when the script creates the route and it seems that the direction of the line feature gets flipped when I create the route (I have definitively verified this is happening). Is this what is supposed to happen? I've never worked with the linear referencing tools before this so am unsure if this is what should be happening.

Each of the line segments have a defined FROM and TO node direction which is important for streams in terms of correct flow direction. The reason the direction matters to me for my script is that I am creating the vertices via the gp.FeatureVerticesToPoints_management tool get the elevations of the FROM and TO node to determine the stream slope for points located along the NHD section. This impacts the slope calculation obviously.

I just compared a site that had a negative slope (with assumption that a negative slope implies an instance where the route direction got flipped as I describe) with a site that had a positive slope (with assumption that a positive slope indicates an instance where the route direction did not get flipped). Both assumptions were true, and it seems for the former the direction got flipped, and the latter it did not. So it seems that this tool does not flip the directions consistently...

Is there any way to preserve the original direction of the NHD segments when I create a route? Or, what would influence the direction of the output route line feature?