You didn’t sand enough at low grit to get the old finish off. Then you closed the pores that did have the finish sanded off by sanding at too high a grit. And, you used Minwax. Start over and sand well at a lower grit. Don’t go past 150. Water pop. Stain with a better brand. Finish coat 1. Sand well. Finish 2. And again. Finish 3. Evaluate for smoothness before doing another coats.

ahh the issue was i didnt mix the stain well enough!

what are some.good brands of stain to use going forward?

You will probably have better luck getting a good black by using a wood dye (eg TransTint) rather than a pigment stain. LWO has the right steps, your stain didn't take because you didn't get the old finish off in the first place. A chemical stripper will do less damage than extensive sanding.

finished product!