Nice gourds. In your video what type of pepper was all the way to the right in your little retaining wall garden area. Small roundish green ones?

"So I went ahead and plucked the gourds and pulled the plant up"
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Those gourds probably are not mature and wont be good.
I have grown same kinds and swan gourds, for several years. They need to ripen and age on the vine till fall. Only danger in my case were the squirrels.

The gourds I picked have not grown in size in over a month. So I'm pretty sure they are done growing. I started the plant back in March so it's been over four months. I would have kept them on the vine but the powdery mildew was taking it's toll and I didn't want it to spread. It hasn't had any new flowers for quite some time.

The peppers I am growing are Big Jim Numex, jalapeno, bell, and a couple of volunteer tabascos. So nothing really interesting or exotic.

The gourds I picked have not grown in size in over a month

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It is not just growing in size but MATURING, thickening, hardening the shell. They should be left on the vine as long as the vine is alive or until the gourd's stem is dry and woody. And after that you should hang them to get fully dry. If a gourd (I am talking about bottle type) was not mature it might collapse. or will have very thin skin. And some may juts rot. That is what often happens to the new comers or the plant dies of some disease.

Hmm, well I picked one two months ago. It has gotten significantly lighter in weight but shows no signs of rot or mildew. It's as hard as a rock and nothing on it's skin indicates it's not going to make it. No soft spots or blemishes. There is a barely audible sound of seed rattle.

Anyway, I've heard many different techniques for growing and harvesting gourds. Everyone seems to have a differing opinion. So I think it's best for me to test out all the methods and see what works best for me.

I am not familiar with all the circumstances of your case. What I said was in general. Your gourd may have dried ok but maybe has not enough wall thickness if you want to do CARVING or BURNING on it.

Mold growth on mature gourd is noroblem and actually it can give it a unique pattern. But you can prevent it by chlorine or vinegar solution.

Here is a musical instrument that I have made from a bottle gourd. (in process)

Growing any plant for the first time is always a great thrill and sense of achievement - and especially when you see results as you have shown us. Even the most experienced grower has a few failures along the way too...so good on you - and enjoy trying a few other varieties down the track. I loved the idea of growing in pots!! Cheers. Royce.