Update: I found a workaround to prevent entering emergency shell during boot for no reason. I've simply cleared the `OnFailure=` option for initrd-parse-etc.service (which was previously set to `OnFailure=emergency.target`).
Now the server boots successfully without dropping into an emergency shell.
This is a total hack, and I'm a little embarrassed that it's the only solution that I've found.
As I mentioned earlier, there are no errors printed in the boot or systemd logs, so I don't know what is actually failing. Well, at least now I know that it is `initrd-parse-etc.service` that is failing, but I don't know why. Does anyone know what initrd-parse-etc.service does? Or have suggestions how to troubleshoot that unit specifically?
Thanks, Quinn