if you try with a diferent texture what happens
is the texture a vtf?
I GOT IT TO WOOOORK IT'sS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!!! I AM SO GIDDY WITH EXCITEMENT
All i did was set the Alpha and Image format to DXT5 or whatever it is and set the version to 7.1, just like i did with the normal map, so the textures and for the first time ever, my normal map works!
Model viewer:

I just need to fix the collision mesh again so that it actually fits the model the way i want it to, which should be easy-peasy