does anyone have a diagnosis? i recently shot a bunch of reels of super 8 reversal film in my camera. the knob on the handle was turned to "N", instead of "RL." do these stand for "Negative" and "Reversal," respectively? If so, does that mean that my film won't come out?

No, there would be no such function that can change what kind of film you actually put into the camera.

N is probably normal and RL is probably run lock. Is it a Yashica by any chance?