essentially, if you install the nvidia drivers before installing AND updating steam, it will get stuck and crash on startup every attempt. the only fix i found for this is to uninstall both steam and the nvidia driver, reinstall steam, update, and then install the nvidia driver.
here is a link to my original support request: https://support.steampowered.com/view.php?ticketref=6082-QAKV-7211
essentially, if you install the nvidia drivers before installing AND updating steam, it will get stuck and crash on startup every attempt. the only fix i found for this is to uninstall both steam and the nvidia driver, reinstall steam, update, and then install the nvidia driver.