ok. that did it, wonder if it was the kernelversion. or any updates on the
other host install.
this time a pure 18.04 iso
no upgrades!
then an
apt-get install libgconf-2.4
apt --fix-broken install
dpkg -i /media/me/NV/sdkmanager_1.7.3-9053_amd64.deb
run sdkmanager
kept all the defaults.
downloaded and installed flawless
flashing with no problem whatsoever
thanks for the hint. reinstalling for sure was faster then trying to figure out what the bug was.