Beginner questions: Using the MCP4261 library

Part of your issue may be wiper resistance. Basically the wiper on the chip has a given amount of resistance all of the time. On my chip it was around 74 ohms. Basically, you have to set the pot to minimum ohms and then check what the reading is. You would expect to get 0 ohms but, it will be somewhere between 0 and 100, every chip is a little different.