nrf24l01 + old aritronics + L298N need a little help.

PaulS:
You have an awful lot of code for (still) having a fundamental problem.

Get rid of most of the code. Just make one motor spin in one direction for 5 seconds. Then spin the other motor the same way, for the same length of time. Then, make each motor spin the other way, for the same length of time. Lock the joysticks and radios away until you can positively control the motors.

Paul, That's where I started if you read up on this thread. I broke away from the wireless system and used simple joysticks and a wired connection between the joysticks ==> arduino ==> motor controller ==> motors. Everything worked perfectly. I even added in a servo and a pot and controlled the motion of the servo using the pot. Wired everything worked perfectly.