That is not a good secure advice.
Please keep SMTP_BLOCK = "1"
so keep that enabled, this way smtp is more secured. There is no need whatsoever to disable this.
To enable php scripts to function, just enable this setting right below it.
SMTP_ALLOWLOCAL = "1"
and check this:
SMTP_PORTS = "25,465,587"
Also check that port 465 is open for outgoing traffic.
Next to that, this is probably also caused by an error in your scripts, since it shows the "header already sent" warning.
Might also be related to use something about using gmail as smtp from your server, I've seen some topics about it, but didn't get into it.