Thanks for the quick response.
Let me provide a little context for what I'm doing.
I'm using nginx as a reverse proxy for my home automation server on my home network.. both are on separate machines.
currently only port 443 is open to the nginx server.
so yes port 80 is blocked, but maybe it wasn't when I originally set everything up.
Can I get the renewal to come thorough 443, or do I need to open up port 80 for that purpose.?