IOS Location services work great when testing, removed when deploying?

Hi,

i am banging my head against a wall here so hopefully someone can help.

I am using permission_handler to request location permissions when needed, and when testing this works great, i can see location under the app permissions under settings.

when I deploy to the app store for test flight, there is no location permissions, just nothing. only siri, search and mobile data. when testing on simulator and physical device, i can see location permissions and can enable/disable as needed

what have I done already:-

Added the correct privacy statements in info.list, both via flutterflow and via info.plist directly.
checked cocoapods to ensure permssion_handler has PERMISSION_LOCATION=1 enabled.
fresh install of app, clean flutter/ios folder (deleted and redeployed to build)
screamed at the computer
added background refresh -> location to the xcode project and deployed via github with new settings to testflight

I'm seriously at a loss and have been through countless forums, trying everything i saw.

ensured permissons are set in flutterflow
ensured cocoapads has the right macro for permission_handler
added background refresh ->location in the xcode project and deployed via github

verified testing it works on multiple devices, when testing im using flutterflow locally test button ios simulator and iPhone, all works perfectly, as expected.
deployed via flutterflow to app store, processes fine, when installed via test flight, permisson request is not present under app settings and any attempt to request permission via dedicated button is met with the app settings page with no location menu item present.
deployed via github after adding and checking required information in the xcode project, same result

to note:-

i was using location with no issues before i added permission_handler (flutterflow default version), i had the app requesting permission perfectly each time. I only began using permission_handler when client requested a button to open app settings correctly to enable location if needed.

im happy to remove permisson_handler in my custom action if there is another way of requesting permissions when needed, even if 'never' has been selected.

I hope there is some one out there who can share a nugget of information to help get me past this as I am stuck at this point.

thanks everyone,