I want to reverse my Hampton Bay ceiling fan, but there is an empty space where the switch should be. The fan was in the house when I bought it, so I don't know if it came from the store that way. Unfortunately, before finding a "tool-less fix" for this, I had opened the casing. What I think was a piece of solder fell out. I think it had just come off a component. After not seeing a loose switch inside the casing, I found this site and thought I'd try the advise I had found, so I put the casing back together, and now the fan doesn't spin. The light works and the unit vibrates subtlely with the switch on, like it's trying to work. I'm thinking that piece that fell out was, indeed making a needed connection, but I don't know where. Can somebody help me?

Sounds like you need to replace the switch. It should have 3-6 wires. Usually 6.