SHORT ANSWER: If you cannot link then you have neither a TFN nor an AOR, you are still in the initial applicant pool or cloud and are invisible to any call centre IRCC agent. I am in the same situation and have resolved to try and link every few days or once a week. Given that IRCC's 2022/2023 budget now forecasts that many TR2PR's will not be fully processed this year (~40,000 in 2022 & the remaining ~32,000 in 2023 under Federal Economic Public Policies), I am not going to panic that I've not heard anything yet.
LONGER ANSWER: I've successfully made 2 calls to IRCC agents yesterday & this morning. I am in the same situation as you except a different stream-- applied June 10, 2021 (Stream B, Non-Healthcare, Essential Worker) with no further contact, neither a TFN (ability to link) nor an AOR.
I've provided a more detailed explanation to earlier queries but I will restate some of it here. Applications are held in an initial pool or 'cloud' of applications. When they are drawn down for initial review, they are assigned a Temporary File Number (TFN) while they are reviewed for initial completeness before an official AOR is issued and official processing begins. During this (usually brief) window before an AOR, you may be able to link your application to your online account using other EXACT data from your application without the actual application number. If you are successful at linking it, your application has been drawn out of the cloud and has been assigned a TFN, BUT due in part to the influx of Ukrainian requests among other delays, the recent processing times between the assignment of a TFN and an actual AOR can vary widely -- days, weeks, months.
Rather than calling into the call centre, based on the information I've gathered, I will continue to check to see if I can link my account every few days or once a week. If I can link, that should mean my application has been drawn down. There is not point in following up on an application that IRCC call centre agents cannot 'see' in their system. Webform requests go unanswered. Webform document submissions cannot be linked. Use of Representative forms and other information updates cannot be linked either -- trust me, I've tried. If you are not linked, have no TFN or AOR, you are still invisible to the IRCC agents. You can ask general questions but specifics on your case will not be available.