Replacing an inground pool light

I bought a new pool light with plenty of new cord. I turned off the breaker, the GFI, and tested to make sure there was no power. I disconnected the black, white, and green wires, and took pictures to make sure I get the new ones hooked up properly. I measured two lengths of nylon cord and taped it securely to the old wiring. I knotted the cord around the wiring bundle, taped it securely, and test pulled on it to make sure I wasn't going to lose it in the conduit.

I went to the pool, unscrewed the bezel, got the light to sit on the pool decking, and TRIED to pull the cord. No luck at all. Now, there is a heavier green ground wire that is anchored in the light canister, and in the GFI.

Do I have to disconnect that green wire and re-secure the cord and pull ALL the wires through the conduit? How do I know what to do next? I had my feet on the wall, in the pool, and pulled with all my might, and I got the light cord to come out a couple of inches....but nothing moved at the jbox. I am wondering if that green ground is taped to the power cord for the light. Please help.

Unfortunately, the conduit for light niches is often badly installed, in a variety of ways. If the cord won't move, you can try forcing some wire lubricant down the conduit. But this won't help if they've crimped the conduit.

Or you can use a waterproof splice kit to connect a new lamp to an old cord. It's not standard, but you may want to coat your wire splice connector with electrical silicone, BEFORE sliding the heat shrink tubing over the top. I assume you have a GFCI on the lamp, and it doesn't take much current leakage to trip the GFCI. Using the silicone can help prevent that.

It may sound like overkill, but it might be a good idea to buy TWO splice kits, so you can practice with one, before applying the other. Note that most silicone will corrode wiring.

Also, a quart is ~57 cubic inches. If your conduit is 3/4 ID, you will need about 2 cubic inches per foot of conduit. So, a quart should do at least 25' of conduit.

Good luck!

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Gardner Bender HST-1300 Underground Cable Splice Kit for waterproof splicing of #14 - #8 AWG UF Copper Wire
Permatex 80050 Clear RTV Silicone Adhesive Sealant, 3 oz.

Gardner Bender 79-006N 1 Quart Squeeze Bottle Wire-Aide Wire Pulling Lubricant

Open up the junction box and start with a few drops of Dawn dish soap down the conduit. Do this for a few days. Should be good to go then.

As for pulling the new wiring up, here's what I do;
Remove the old light from its housing and set it on the deck. Cut the wiring at the light's base. Take the jbox end of the new light's wiring and place it end to end with the old wiring. Use gorilla tape to secure them together (both around and length-wise). Pull firmly and slowly. Should be good. This method hasn't failed me yet.
Remember you only want enough wiring that you can remove the light housing and place it on the deck. Any excess will make it a nightmare to get the light back in the niche.
Hope that makes sense, not sure I explained it well.

Sounds reasonable.