I actually found a way to avoid getting npc lock in Sandy and Bastok; it seems that after you click on the npc -- whether it's the OP npc, WG npc, or moogle npc -- you have a small window of chance to not get froze by it. Simply after clicking the npc, or trading items or gils to npc, simply spam the menu button open (rectangle button), then if menu pops quickly spam the x-button, to click on that menu option to go off; this will prevent you from getting npc lock. I chose the playtime option from the menu, but other menu option works well also; as for as I know, this trick been working for over a month now.