Testing the Effectiveness of an Anti-cancer Drug, Triapine, When Used With Targeted Radiation-based Treatment (Lutetium Lu 177 Dotatate), Compared to Lutetium Lu 177 Dotatate Alone for Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have metastatic, histologically confirmed well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor with positive gallium 68 DOTATATE or copper 64 DOTATATE scan. Lesions on dotatate scan will be considered positive if the standardized uptake value maximum (SUVmax) of target lesion is \> 2 times standardized uptake value (SUV) mean of normal liver parenchyma. Patients with lung neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are excluded from the trial * Patients must have progressive disease based on RECIST criteria, version 1.1 evidenced with CT scans/MRI obtained within 24 months from enrollment * Patients must have measurable disease per RECIST 1.1 * Failure of at least one prior systemic cancer treatment with somatostatin analogs * No prior exposure to peptide receptor radionuclide therapy * Recovered from adverse events of previously administered therapeutic agents (i.e., to grade 2 or less toxicity) according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) 5.0 * Age \>= 18 years * Because no dosing or adverse event data are currently available on the use of triapine in combination with lutetium Lu 177 dotatate in patients \< 18 years of age, children are excluded from this study * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 2 (Karnofsky \>= 60%) * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/mcL * Platelets \>= 100,000/mcL * Total bilirubin =\< 1.5 institutional upper limit of normal (ULN) * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic-oxal…