I bought the Hall sensors from a guy in England ,and installed them myself.
100% sure of this.
The Hall sensor is a replacement for a potentiometer, it requires movement of the stick to work. What you have in your picture is a force sensing strain gauge which is also what the X-65 uses. Hall sensors are superior to potentiometers. Strain gauges are completely different.
The Cougar suffered from cheap metal in the gimbal so now the Warthog uses plastic.

For the best stick see my original answer. Currently I'm using a center-mounted extended offset Warthog handle on custom gimbals in a Cougar base with Hall sensors. Any decent joystick will work, some people fly well with a mouse. If the VKB is too pricey I'd look at the X-55 Whiskey recommended.