GIMP :: Gradient Is Not Responding

I am a new user to Gimp and have gone out and watched many videos regarding how to use the different tools. I have recently been toying with the gradient tool on some text. Everything worked perfectly at first, but recently it seems to not be responding. Here are the steps that I take:

Open a new file with transparent background
Create a text box
Type in the text and adjust the font size and style
Go under layer, transparency, and select alpha to selection
Select gradient, select colors, select Dark Only mode
Drag my line from left to right across the text

When I used this exact technique last week it worked just fine, now, it either does nothing at all or will only respond only if I change mode from Dark Only to Normal.