Animation Problem in Legacy and Mechanim

Hello everyone, I'm having some trouble with a animation I'm trying to get working in Unity, and both the Legacy and Mechanim system present their own issues.

My animation: It is a 1 bone animation that simply moves a platform down a path (the platform turns, pitches, and spins while in motion), then comes to a stop at the end.

My animation requirements: Just needs to play and be able to be reset (moved back to its starting location and play again) in case the player dies while in transit.

The problems: Legacy: animation plays perfectly, but I cannot get the root bone to stop moving when starting the scene (even without any animation clip attached to it), it just plays on its own.

Mechanim: no control problems, but the animation stops about 90% of the way through (stops immediately), then starts the animation over again from its current location.

So my questions are: 1) Which system would be best for my animation needs?

2) Any ideas what is causing the problems in either Legacy or Mechanim?

Any ideas are appreciated.