First of all. This is not another "how do I exit vim?" shitpost.
I've been using (neo)vim for about two years and I started to notice, that I,m basically unable to use non-vim editors. I do not code a lot, but I write a lot of markown. I'd like to use dedicated tools for this, but their vim emulators are so bad. So I'm now stuck with my customized neovim, devoid of any hope of abandoning this strange addiction.
As someone who is currently learning emacs, I gotta say, this comment has the energy of someone offering heroin to someone struggling to moderate their cannabis usage (given OP indicated that custom config if a thing they're finding burdensome in a way)
I always would recommend people to switch to emacs. It is truly a wonderfully transformative experience. But in your case, the question is why do you want to quit using (n)vim?
Something like vim-table-mode work as an improvement? You got me there though, tables can be a real pain in a terminal.
For the second, I setup an on save hook or watch script to build a PDF and open it. Its been a minute, but I think I had to find a PDF viewer that would refresh if already open and keep the current position on subsequent opens.
Best of luck finding something that works for you!