Deadlock

Best bet might be to ask your friend for a new invite using the new referral system and type in a different email address. You'll end up with two forum accounts but it should be faster than waiting for a reply

Got it, thanks! @nospine there'll still be a friend time limit though right? or, are the email address and picking the steam account not linked?

Email address and Steam account don't need to be linked. Your friend should be able to invite you again. Make sure they type a different email address this time and that they select your Steam profile during the referral process.