Correct, thats what i originally thought, but when trying to send a digital signal both high and low i dont get any results. it was odd, if i plugged two wires into arduino one for pin and other for hot or gnd and touch them respectively to the pins and to hot/gnd i would get a signal, even if the second wire was connected to another pin on the arduino. I know im not understanding this properly, which is why im researching, but so far i have failed to answer my questions. If you have any other id advice id gladly take it!
Thank you guys for the replies!