I experience the same loop as @chris-kerbal also with the same mod, RealPlumes and with the same need.
Here's that line from my log:
[LOG 16:25:17.403] Applying update RealPlume/000_Generic_Plumes/Ammonialox/@PART[*]:HAS[@PLUME[Ammonialox]:HAS[~processed[*]]]:AFTER[zRealPlume]:NEEDS[SmokeScreen] to Squad/Parts/Engine/liquidEngineMk55/liquidEngineMk55.cfg/PART[radialLiquidEngine1-2]
Edit: redownloading and reinstalling the mod didn't help, only solution was uninstalling. Now the game loads fine.