My ex husband paid child/spousal support for 7 months directly to me, and only started paying through the state of AZ Clearinghouse last month.

Although money paid outside the Clearinghouse can be considered a "gift," if you know that the payments he made were intended to be satisfaction of his child support obligation, then you should give him credit for the payments he made. This can be done by filing an "Affidavit of Direct Payments" with the Clearinghouse so that you are acknowledging that you received the payments from him. Going forward, it is better for him to make the payments to the Clearinghouse so an accurate record can be kept, but it would not be appropriate for you to ask him to pay "again" for payments you already received, even if he made the payments directly.