Pdf generation locks up erpnext

That’s a good clue - so your issue may be host_name resolution

For remote server access to pdf that must be specified in your site_config.json

To check that try this:

frappe@ubuntu1804lts:~/frappe-bench$ bench show-config | grep host_name
host_name https://exampledomain.com

To add or change that try something like this:

bench set-confg host_name https://exampledomain.com

You can also edit site-config.json manually.

Clues like this will help