@arubislander Fresh install. I used the image listed on the Pixel 3a page on ubuntu-touch.io.
I solved the issue yesterday with a clean install, everything works now. I still can't get to that app permissions screen but apparently I don't need to (not yet anyway).
So for anyone else experiencing this issue, all ya gotta do is re-flash back to Android 9 and then reinstall UT, easy fix.

Just got UT (Focal) up and running on a 3a XL. Camera app asks for permissions, then flashes over to another screen (presumably the screen I need to be on) which instantly disappears and leaves me in the "App permissions" screen which only shows apps you have granted camera mic or location access (all say 0 and are greyed out).

Figured I'd try the microphone, so I downloaded the Recorder app (by luksus42 on OpenStore) and when I try to make a recording I get "Internal data stream error. (Reset your settings will fix this.)" It isn't asking for permissions but also flat out isn't working. Seems like it might be related so I thought I'd include it here.

Did I just do something terribly wrong during the installation or is this a common issue? Should I have went with Xenial instead? I'm not a Linux guru by any means but I'm not green either. Any help is appreciated!