WordPress Gallery (shortcode) Markup ISSUE

Hello,
I hoping that someone can put me in the right direction before I pull my hair out!
I’m trying to edit the default html that wordpress puts out for the default gallery.
I’m using the shortcode method to display my gallery on a custom template page. The problem is that wordpress is automatically inputting <br style="clear:both"> into the html markup and it’s messing things up for me! I have been messing with this for hours, literally. I found this on another post:

function remove_gallery_css()
{
	return "<ul class=\"gallery\">";
}
add_filter('gallery_style', 'remove_gallery_css');

function fix_gallery_output( $output )
{
$output = preg_replace("%<br style=.*clear: both.* />%", "", $output);
return $output;
}
add_filter('the_content', 'fix_gallery_output',11, 1);

I added this into my functions file and it is STILL adding in the same clear:both style to the
elements! UGH! Can anyone please help me with this?