Does a missing axle dust cover cause abs light to turn on?

I recently replaced the boot and and bearing on my driver side and am experiencing a persistent abs vsc light combo that my reader is saying is caused by a bad left sensor. While putting things back, I damaged the axle dust cover (part : 43246-47010), which in turn rubbed against the abs original sensor and damaged it as well. I took everything apart and removed the cover entirely and reassembled everything with a cheap Amazon sensor. The lights persisted. I figured the non OEM sensor was just not good enough, and bought a used one on eBay, and the lights are still on. I decided to do a little experiment and disconnected my right side sensor, and the car reads nothing when moving (stuck at 0mph), confirming that the issue is indeed in the left side. Has anyone driven without a dust cover? Does it trigger those lights, it I should just bite the bullet and buy a brand new one for $300?