blacklib powering QTR-8rc from pololu

Hi, Im trying to power the qtr-8rc from pololu from my beaglebone using blacklib.

https://www.pololu.com/product/961

Im able to power the IR lights but reading values are failing. On thing that the 8rc requires is for you to put the GPIO in output mode for 10 milliseconds and then switch to input mode. But specifiying the mode is in the contructor of the GPIO object. Should I just create a new object to point to the same pin or is it possible to switch the pin mode?

Any guidance on work done with similar IR line reading circuits would be appreciated.