Do I have to formally request that he correct the problem and will an email suffice as notification? Or can I file form 4852 without contacting him? I do not feel he will correct this problem after I notify him.
The first step is to contact your employer.
If you are convinced that taxes were taken out, your next step is to contact the IRS.
A Form 1099-NEC can report income tax withholding, so if the Form 1099-NEC shows what was withheld, there is no problem (as long as the company actually sent the withheld income tax to the Treasury). If the company withheld Social Security and Medicare taxes as well, they apparently considered you to be an employee and should have sent you a W-2, not a Form 1099-NEC. It's not legal for them to simply withhold taxes and keep the money.
The more basic question is whether or not you were an independent contractor or an employee under the law: