[Milhouse]

for some reason when I do a fresh install using wired connection, can't get past the welcome screen for networking... just sits there saying working... with the spinning symbol.

I know it's connected because I can ssh in, but can't figure out how to close/get past the first-use prompts

It's a known issue.

Either carry out the instructions in the linked post, or install a release version which doesn't have this problem, configure it and then upgrade to a development build.