mobile VR and wireless controller conflicts

this is more of a general question and frustration with mobile VR, as i have no specific code handling events at the moment. here's the situation. i am making builds in Gear VR and in Google Cardboard, and i wish to use a standard bluetooth wireless game controller. i've put in the Standalone Input module in the Event System, added inputs for the controller in the Input Manager, and when built, and having luck on my side, i can use the controller to navigate the UI successfully.

i say luck because if i touch the screen when inserting the phone into the device, or it recognizes gaze tracking when inserted, any further input from the joystick is ignored. i have eliminated the Scripting Define CROSS_PLATFORM_INPUT designator, which seems to have killed the gaze tracking decently enough, but the screen touch detection is really frustrating. i don't mind it losing UI focus but i just wish it would then recognize the joystick input after that.

really not sure of how to solve this issue. is it possible to easily disable the mobile screen touch inputs on the build, or let the controllers work cooperatively so that it would recognize the input? or is this more likely to have a script based solution? any assistance appreciated!