6 x 4 backfires and misses

[spikeit]

Hi to all and yes, I'm a newbie with a problem. I've a 1998 6 x Gator, twin Kawasaki and bought it used many trouble free years ago. Six months ago I did routine maint. like changing the oil/filters, both plugs and rebuilt the carb. Afterward it started quicker and ran better then it EVER had. I was a happy camper. Last week it started backfiring thru the exhaust, and missing, plus it kicks back when cranking like it's out of time. I've started thinking that's due to the starter fighting the compression of a dead cylinder. After cranking, sometimes it'll smooth out then start missing again, just back and forth like this. I work on small engines and such but it's been pretty cold here lately so I haven't checked anything yet. To get a jump on this, when I check and if I eliminate the plugs/coils, does this SOUND like the CDI unit is going bad? It never dies as though the CDI gets hot then cools and it'll restart because it keeps running, but like it's on one cylinder plus backfires like one is firing sporadically after that cylinder loads up with raw gas. I know little to nothing about the CDI unit but I do know they're not cheap to replace, on a hunch. Anyone with knowledge/thoughts on the CDI will be very much appreciated.
Thx
Spikeit