I have the same problem switching from 3 to 3b+.
has anyone found the problem or a workaround or solution for it?
I have the known wifi problem as well. cost me hours till i found out its not up to a config problem with wlan. at least lan works
You can dive into a deep hardware test, described in this thread. If it doesn't helps, buy another RPi.
Try this at /storage/.kodi/userdata/keymaps/keyboard.xml:
<keymap>
<global>
<keyboard>
<power>shutdown</power>
</keyboard>
</global>
</keymap>I did the upgrade from latest 8.x to 9.0 on RPi, and my settings and video add-ons are still OK. If you need special add-ons, tell us your hardware platform and add-on names.
I did the upgrade on my RPi3B+, and it runs without problems. This is a "stable" release, no need to worry too much.
I agree with THRobinson. Censorship is going so far that we can't even discuss technical words, like an electronic F-E-M-A-L-E connector. It's pure overdose. 
- My motherboards maximum upgrade is an Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 so is this upgrade worth it? or should I invest in a whole new motherboard?
No LE related questions. Ask Intel.
PS: If you use a MicroSD XC card, that could be the cause of your crashes.
I'm running out of ideas.
My final thoughts:
Maybe LE does quicker file system access in newer versions, and your card / card reader combo doesn't like that.
1) Buy another MicroSD card. (MicroSD HC, Class 10 is what I use)
2) If the new MicroSD card doesn't helps, buy another RPi.
Good luck!
cmb:
Fine. If you still get errors, do this tests to check RAM, PSU and temperature.
Because gaming by using add-ons will be a huge topic soon, I would like to suggest to install such a sub-forum right now. It's relevant for different add-ons, including game controllers. A lot of stuff, worth to bundle it. No ROM support might be a good idea (legal issues).
Thanks for the tests! I think the HDMI dummy plug doesn't works, because other screen modes from the TV overwrite the fixed mode of the dummy plug. If we could force the TV only to receive HDMI data, then it might be OK.
My next theory is that newer TV's have higher HDMI transmission speed, compared to older ones. You have been tried different HDMI cables. Be sure that the HDMI cable complies the newest HDMI standard for high speed transmission.
Can you see anything in the logs that might lead to freezing or the inability to create a crash log?
Yes, your second log file shows read errors at "special://masterprofile". Kodi stores configuration data there, and read errors at this directory can cause crashes. Please check your MicroSD card. There are several diagnostic programs for free out there. Sometimes read errors go hand-in-hand with increasing heat. Correct booting doesn't means much, when it's about broken storage devices.
I did some research, because your project is exotic and cool. Try this command to force PWM output. If it works, you can add it to autostart.sh. If it doesn't works, read the rest of the linked thread.
Thanks. Please add my line for testing. I heard that newer kernels need that parameter to make SPI work.
If you are 100% sure about MicroSD card and docker containers, the next step is activating log level 1 and reading kodi.log for errors.
OK, your GPIO audio pins are 18 (GPIO_GEN5) and 19 (SPI_MOSI). Do you have this line in your config.txt?
dtparam=spi=onI'm using the same LE version on my RPi3B+, and it runs fine. I don't use docker containers, so that could be the cause in your setup.
Maybe grab audio from the 4 poles jack.