According to FS, the brakes are still applied, even when the pedals have been released on my Saitek controller. Is there a proper way to fix this?

Reverse the axis.

I tried that, and it did not work.

You most likely didn't do it correctly then as that is definitely the correct action to take to fix this problem, Saitek in their infinite dimdom reversed the wiring of the brake pots. If you assigned the brakes through FSUIPC you will have to calibrate the pedals too and you will need to add a slight null zone at the very beginning of the brake pedal travel otherwise the brakes bind a little. In FS it's possible to have the brakes working a couple of % without any on screen brake annunciation, so if you dont calibrate with a null zone you can imagine the problems binding brakes can cause.

g

reat suggestion, I have had this problem every so often, and never could fix, will try this now......thanks, B42L8

If You have registered FSUIPC, that is a good idea to assign the brakes via FSUIPC and add a curve to the brakes - I believe FSX works pretty linear when pushing on the brakes which is not the case in automobiles (do not have a idea how this works in real planes)