2D Unity 5.3.2f1: Problems with lighting & multiplying transform.localScale

Hello!

So I've been trying to place a point light to illuminate my 2D character and I've run into trouble. Initially, when my character is facing/moving left the lighting works just fine. When I start moving right and the sprite flips (through multiplying transform.local) the lighting immediately goes, leaving the sprite in the dark. Moreover, once I I change direction again (flip back) the sprite is still in the dark.

Here is a snippet of the code:

I suspect there might be a problem with the transform.localScale not recognizing the assigned material type (which is sprite>diffuse) though I am unsure. I've looked into this problem and others seem to have had it & haven't discovered a solution.

Any and all help with this problem will be much appreciated!!