Just figured it out!
I was using
#define LCD_FEEDBACK_FREQUENCY_HZ 1000
#define LCD_FEEDBACK_FREQUENCY_DURATION_MS 1
which is located in the first section of "LCD and SD support" in Configuration.h. When using these lines in there original place it caused the MKS controller to crash. I used the same definitions but moved them under #define REPRAP_DISCOUNT_SMART_CONTROLLER and it works fine. I am not sure why this is the case, doesn't really make sense to me but there you go.
Cheers!