Not sure what program your creating in, but here's something to try. I use Illustrator on a Mac.
Add the solid red to the black side of the gradient. So one side should be say 100m and 100y and the other side 100m, 100y and 100k.
Or, make a solid red box, copy and paste to front, fill with a black to white vignette and set the top box to multiply.
Hope this helps.
Also, remember that when making gradients, keep to either CMYK or RGB. Rips have trouble calculating a RGB to CMYK blend, as well as PMS to CMYK or RGB.