Ok,
So this is what I have tried so far:
I still don't really understand how to test the switch, despite searching around on the internet. I did try the steps in this video but it didn't seem to make sense for me. Any explicit guidance on this would be greatly appreciated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jegykkfW2RAI then connected a 3PDT switch to the wah pedal with alligator jumper cables. This didn't seem to make a difference at all but I don't think I was doing this right anyway. I suspect that connecting the 3DPDT switch would be useless while the momentary switch is still connected as usual.
I then connected the pcb 'in' to the pcb 'out' with an alligator jumper cables. I did this when the pedal wasn't working. By not working, I mean the momentary switch was actuated and I was getting a guitar signal but not wah sound.
I then followed the pcb 'in' wire wire back to the momentary switch, and did the same for the pcb 'out' wire. I then connected those two lugs with an alligator jumper cable when the pedal was actuated but not giving a wah sound. This made no difference.
THEN THIS HAPPENED:
I turned the pedal upside down so that it was lying guts up. That way, the momentary switch is constantly actuated. I sent signal through the pedal with my guitar and slowly moved the chassis back and forth in order to get a wah sound, which I was getting. THEN I NOTICED THIS! When I would drop the chassis down so that it landed in a toe down position (my pedal chassis is very loose), I could hear a slight pop sound and then the pedal would stop working. I would then rock the chassis back and forth for a while and no wah sound would occur. Then I would drop the chassis down again, hear the pop sound, and the wah would start working again. This went on for as long as I kept doing it.
Then, when the pedal was not working, I touched the pcb's edge, right next to the jack eyelet on the same side as the input jack. I then heard a pop and the pedal came back to life. I got the pedal to stop working again by dropping the chassis down in the toe down position again, and then was able to repeat the same process of getting it to work again by touching the pcb's edge in the exact same spot. I then got the pedal to stop working by slamming the chassis down again.
I then decided to loosen the screws which hold down the pcb. Once I did that, the pedal came back to life again. Unfortunately, this was very short lived. I put the pedal back together by screwing in the rubber feet and used it normally for a few minutes. The same thing continued, it would stop working with a hard toe down but I could get it to start working again by repeating the same motion. There was no consistency to it though. It's kind of like hitting an air conditioner with a wrench; sometimes it works on the first hit, sometimes it works on the fifth hit.
MY HYPOTHESIS: I'm wondering if, because I have so many braided wires from the 4 pots (Q, Bass, Mids, and Gain) stuffed under the pcb, the vibration of the chassis from rocking the pedal is causing a break in the circuit somewhere. I'm not even sure if this is possible.
NEXT STEP: I have no idea. I could take the pcb out and move those pot wires so that their not underneath the pcb any longer. My only hesitation to doing that is accidentally causing more damage. I'm on my second pcb with this pedal because I did so many mods in the past that I ended up damaging the first one.
Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated