I was able to get universal linking working on a testflight build by implementing the following:
(1) I removed ?mode=developer in my applink
(2) I toggled on Associated domains in Settings > Developer.
** I suppose the app was signed with my 'production profile', because I did not specify a development profile.
I had a coworker test the universal links with the testflight build (they dont have developer mode on their iphone so they could not toggle on the required settings) and the links did not redirect them to the application. However, as mentioned, its worked on my test device after following the steps above. My question is, how can I ensure that my current setup will work in production if I can only get it working for the testflight build on devices with developer mode?