Hello forums!
I am trying to figure out how to make a motor do task a when spinning clockwise and task b when spinning counter clockwise, when the motor spins clockwise, task b goes untouched and vice versa. An example of this would motors that when spinning clockwise, fuel the fly wheel and fuel the lifting mechanism when spinning counter clockwise. I believe the ideal part is not sold by vex so what are some alternatives? If you don’t think this is useful just look at your robot and say that you wouldn’t want more power and all your motors don’t spin in exclusively one direction.
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I think your definitely looking at using a transmission. I have seen quite a few teams this year use a transmission to give (as you say) extra power to the lifting mechanism at the expense of another mechanism (Drive, Flywheel).
In terms of the type of transmission, the one Michael posted above is more of a passive transmission and it probably the best option if you are rerouting flywheel motors (or some mechanism that only need to go one way). If you are rerouting drive motors (or something similar) you may want to look into an active style of transmission. Generally these use a pneumatic piston to change the position of gears to change what a gear is powering. An example is here.
But in your situation Michaels is a great choice 
Ratchet systems. Requires no alternate shifting power.