For a $(3+1)$-free poset $P$, we define a hybrid of $P$-tableaux and cylindric tableaux called cylindric $P$-tableaux. We introduce $P$-analogs of cylindric Schur functions, defined by a determinantal formula, and prove that they are the weight generating functions of cylindric $P$-tableaux. We deduce that certain sums of the $e$-expansion coefficients of the chromatic symmetric function $X_{inc(P)}$ are positive. This improves on Gasharov's theorem on the Schur positivity of $X_{inc(P)}$ and gives further evidence for the Stanley-Stembridge conjecture.