Nativescript Android Build Failed: com.android.tools.build:gradle plugin

Question

Just recently I've been having some trouble building my Android platform. When I build, I get two task errors.

1: Task failed with an exception.
-----------
* Where:
Build file '/Users/.../platforms/tempPlugin/core/build.gradle' line: 7

* What went wrong:
A problem occurred evaluating root project 'core'.
> Failed to apply plugin 'kotlin-android'.
   > Kotlin: Unsupported version of com.android.tools.build:gradle plugin: version 7.1.3 or higher should be used with kotlin-android plugin

* Try:
> Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace.
> Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.
> Run with --scan to get full insights.
==============================================================================

2: Task failed with an exception.
-----------
* What went wrong:
A problem occurred configuring root project 'core'.
> com.android.builder.errors.EvalIssueException: compileSdkVersion is not specified. Please add it to build.gradle

* Try:
> Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace.
> Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.
> Run with --scan to get full insights.
==============================================================================

* Get more help at https://help.gradle.org

BUILD FAILED in 408ms
Failed to build plugin @nativescript/core : 
Error: Command ./gradlew failed with exit code 1

I thus went ahead and specified the compileSDKVersion in my App_Resources/Android/app.gradle file.

// You can add your native dependencies here
dependencies {
//  implementation 'androidx.multidex:multidex:2.0.1'
implementation "com.android.billingclient:billing:7.1.1"
}

android {
  compileSdkVersion 34
  // buildToolsVersion "32.0.0"
  // ndkVersion ""

  defaultConfig {
    minSdkVersion 21
    targetSdkVersion 34

    // Version Information
    versionCode 69
    versionName "3.1.6"

    generatedDensities = []
  }

  aaptOptions {
    additionalParameters "--no-version-vectors"
  }
}

However, I'm not sure how to address the other task issue about the com.android.tools.build:gradle plugin. I have a before-plugins.gradle file in my App_Resouces/Android/ folder that looks like this

// this configurations is loaded before building plugins, as well as before building
// the app - this is where you can apply global settings and overrides

project.ext {
  // androidXAppCompat = "1.4.1"
  // androidXExifInterface = "1.3.3"
  // androidXFragment = "1.4.1"
  // androidXMaterial = "1.5.0"
  // androidXMultidex = "2.0.1"
  // androidXTransition = "1.4.1"
  // androidXViewPager = "1.0.0"

  // useKotlin = true
  // kotlinVersion = "1.6.0"
}

I made a build.gradle file at the root of my NS directory with the following code:

buildscript {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:7.3.0' // Example: Use a version >= 7.1.3
        classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:1.8.20" // Example: A compatible Kotlin version
    }
}

I did an NS clean and a fresh build and I still get the same error. Nothing is working. Can I please get some help with this?

Below is my package.json

{
  "name": "...",
  "main": "./src/main.ts",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "private": true,
  "dependencies": {
    "@angular/animations": "~14.1.0",
    "@angular/cdk": "^14.1.1",
    "@angular/common": "~14.1.0",
    "@angular/compiler": "~14.1.0",
    "@angular/core": "~14.1.0",
    "@angular/forms": "~14.1.0",
    "@angular/platform-browser": "~14.1.0",
    "@angular/platform-browser-dynamic": "~14.1.0",
    "@angular/router": "~14.1.0",
    "@bradmartin/nativescript-urlhandler": "^2.0.1",
    "@mhtghn/nativescript-highcharts": "^1.0.2",
    "@nativescript-community/ble": "^3.1.22",
    "@nativescript-community/insomnia": "^2.0.2",
    "@nativescript-community/perms": "2.2.13",
    "@nativescript-community/sentry": "^4.6.2",
    "@nativescript-community/ui-material-bottom-navigation": "^7.0.28",
    "@nativescript-community/ui-material-bottomnavigationbar": "^7.0.25",
    "@nativescript-community/ui-material-tabs": "^7.0.28",
    "@nativescript/angular": "^14.0.0",
    "@nativescript/core": "^8.4.1",
    "@nativescript/datetimepicker": "^2.1.11",
    "@nativescript/firebase-analytics": "^2.5.1",
    "@nativescript/firebase-auth": "^2.5.1",
    "@nativescript/firebase-core": "^2.5.1",
    "@nativescript/firebase-database": "^2.5.1",
    "@nativescript/firebase-firestore": "^2.5.1",
    "@nativescript/firebase-functions": "^2.5.1",
    "@nativescript/payments": "~3.0.2",
    "@nativescript/theme": "~3.0.2",
    "@triniwiz/nativescript-toasty": "^4.1.3",
    "bluebird": "3.5.5",
    "crypto-es": "^1.2.7",
    "reflect-metadata": "^0.1.13",
    "rxjs": "~6.6.7",
    "zone.js": "~0.11.5"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@angular-devkit/build-angular": "~14.1.0",
    "@angular/compiler-cli": "~14.1.0",
    "@nativescript/android": "~8.3.1",
    "@nativescript/ios": "^8.3.3",
    "@nativescript/types": "~8.3.0",
    "@nativescript/webpack": "~5.0.9",
    "@ngtools/webpack": "~14.1.0",
    "typescript": "~4.7.0"
  }
}