Everything that I run from the control ports has to be attached to the ground pin right? Whether it be a potentiometer or a switch it needs to have 5v to the 5v pin the signal pin connected to a signal pin and the ground pin connected to the ground. Do I just end up attaching all those grounds and solder them to the one ground pin/s?
Switches connect from ground to the signal input on the OI port. Pots connect from +5 to the signal input on the OI port, with no ground connection.
All the +5 pins and grounds on the OI are connected together, so you can use as many or as few as you want. It’s probably both safe and convenient to keep all the controls on each joystick port separately powered/grounded.