So I got the brakes to work but now the I need to press down on the lever really hard to the point it touches the grip. I‘m using a cable system that uses straddle cable if that helps.
you need to shorten the inner cable tighten it up wle
You've probably lost adjustment. As the pads get shaved down, you can use the fine adjustment to bring them closer. But when the brake pads wear, you need to loosen the cable (from the caliper end, screw in the fine/cable adjust and reattach the cable.
The cable needs to be adjusted tighter. There should also be two fine adjusts as well. The first on is on your brake lever. Your cable runs into it. Turn it counter clockwise and it will tighten up your cable. The other one should be on the caliper, if you have that type of brake system. If you do, turn that one counter clockwise.
