Is there any way to use Abaqus' version of pdb outside of Abaqus' PDE?

I'm currently using pdb provided by Abaqus in the PDE, but the interface is awfully clunky and is generally buggy. For example, trying to set a breakpoint in a file other than the main file from the debugger command line almost always causes Abaqus' pdb to crash with no message. Also, the breakpoints created via the GUI-based breakpoint set/clear tool and the breakpoints created via command line frequently get out of sync. 

In particular, I have a multi-file project which uses the Abaqus kernel. It seems like PDE is built for single-file projects, and as such, it doesn't provide a good way to navigate across many files, set breakpoints in files which are not the main file, etc.

If I must use Abaqus' pdb in Abaqus' PDE, then I also have the following question:

I've noticed that when I run a script in Abaqus' PDE the Abaqus GUI displays the stuff that the script is doing. I don't want the GUI to do anything when I am debugging in Abaqus' PDE. Is there some way to get rid of the GUI while debugging?