kubernetes: [GKE] Service of type LoadBalancer stays stuck if loadBalancerIP is static

Is this a request for help? (If yes, you should use our troubleshooting guide and community support channels, see http://kubernetes.io/docs/troubleshooting/.): No

What keywords did you search in Kubernetes issues before filing this one? (If you have found any duplicates, you should instead reply there.): "external ip not assigned on GKE " and variants

Is this a BUG REPORT or FEATURE REQUEST? (choose one): BUG REPORT

Kubernetes version (use kubectl version):

Client Version: version.Info{Major:"1", Minor:"6", GitVersion:"v1.6.0", GitCommit:"fff5156092b56e6bd60fff75aad4dc9de6b6ef37", GitTreeState:"clean", BuildDate:"2017-03-28T16:36:33Z", GoVersion:"go1.7.5", Compiler:"gc", Platform:"darwin/amd64"}
Server Version: version.Info{Major:"1", Minor:"6", GitVersion:"v1.6.0", GitCommit:"fff5156092b56e6bd60fff75aad4dc9de6b6ef37", GitTreeState:"clean", BuildDate:"2017-03-28T16:24:30Z", GoVersion:"go1.7.5", Compiler:"gc", Platform:"linux/amd64"}

Environment:

• Cloud provider or hardware configuration: Google Compute Platform

What happened: Several of the details on this thread: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/43416772/service-wont-come-up-when-using-static-ip-on-gke. TL;DR: Trying to create a service and expose it via static IP on GCP. If I assign a Service LoadBalancer with a loadBalancerIP that is the same as the static IP assigned on GCP, the service stays stuck in external IP allocation pending state.

$ kubectl get service my-app-service
NAME                   CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)        AGE
my-app-service          10.x.x.x        <pending>     80:31432/TCP   12m

What you expected to happen: Service will allocate itself the static IP I assigned

How to reproduce it (as minimally and precisely as possible):

• Allocate a static IP on GCP
• Use that static IP on a Service of type LoadBalancer

Anything else we need to know: I think there is generally missing guidance on how to combine ingress with service, or maybe my perception is clouded by the errors I am seeing.