Gboard settings keeps crashing

I am using a Samsung J7 2016 phone, and the only solution that works is switching to the Samsung virtual keyboard. That works fine and I am not receiving any crashes with it. I also believe that I can find other "virtual keyboards" to download on Google Play Store, but have not tried it, since the Samsung one works just fine.

apart from the above answer.....

Check if your device is connected to a strong internet connection. Check if your device's Android version is up-to date. Check if your device has enough storage space available(typically 10% or 1GB is recommended). Check if the date and time on your device are updated. Go to Settings > Date & time > If Automatic date & time and time zone are enabled, try disabling and re-enabling Automatic date & time. Uninstall and reinstall Play Store updates (Settings > Apps > Google Play Store > Uninstall Update, and then wait for Play Store to automatically update to the latest version). Check if the Download Manager is enabled under Settings > All Apps > Download Manager. Clear the cache and data of Google Play Store and Download Manager (Settings >Apps > Locate Google Play Store and Download Manager apps > Touch Storage > Clear cache/data

Once you have made sure that Gboard is your default keyboard for your device, please check if you're able to navigate to the app's preferences by going to your device's Settings > language & input > Gboard > Preferences. Here you can choose your keyboard preferences for Gboard.

If the app still crashes, I'd suggest you report this to the product developers directly by sending a feedback. To submit feedback, go to your device's Settings > Language and input > Virtual Keyboard > Select Gboard > Tap on the menu icon on the top right corner > Send Feedback.