The posters above me are quite right.. but I think I see something that might be more true to your situation about those brakes, I've found if you've got them mounted too tight, one side ends up sticking I'd loosen the mounting up, pull the cable and see if the brake pulls both arms instead of one side while the mounting is slack, then it's just a matter of tightening it down just right which you'll be able to do easily by simply squeezing the handle after small increments of tightening...
Your pedal problem... cranksets are cheap and if the thread is stripped might as well upgrade right?
Closing thought: I also use a lot of WD40, that being said it's not ideal to use on moving parts unless you clean back up after yourself, repeat use will land you with a nice little clingy film.. gums things up quite nicely.