hello again,
I’m sorry for the late reply, but i finally got around to taking apart then slide switch like instructed.
i had to enlist help to get it off of the PCB as not only am i inexperienced, but my tools would not get the job properly. the switch has 2 rows of three tabs on the bottom but taking it off of the PCB took on of the tabs with it, as you can see in the photos.
it does appear to be melted or burned on the inside. bending the tabs to remove the metal cover however turned out to be too much for the tiny switch. im guessing because the plastic was melted/burned was the reason why it started to crumble in my hand, so i took as many pictures as i could from when it started breaking to everything finally disassembled.
hopefully this will help in identifying the type of switch this is so i can order the replacement. thank you very much for the help.