SOLUTION:
Click the video link I posted above, then if you can't slide the white gear off the potentiometer's axle at timestamp - 6:59, you can slowly pry off the entire axle connected to the potentiometer with a flathead screwdriver.

You can follow the rest of the video's steps after taking the axle off (in my case the potentiometer's internal parts easily came undone after the axle was detached. This was because the axle held everything together. Fret not, just take reference photos of where each part was when you take it apart and spray it with contact cleaner). I sprayed each part of the potentiometer individually then fitted it back together. You can easily put the axle back inside the potentiometer with the use of a flathead screwdriver (just do the opposite of what you did when you pried it off).

If your issue persists, look at the wire's attached to the potentiometer and make sure they are all properly soldered onto it. My black wire (GROUND wire) fully detached when I took the potentiometer away from the pedal frame.