The automated applied-fls thing you ask for is not possible under our current system, as the applications are merely emails, and are not entered into the database. Under the new backend we are currently working on, this would all be possible, and you could also see the day you applied, etc etc. So I guess my quick answer is "someday! but not today."
As for the rest, you may want to make sure the staffer got your form in the first place. We check your number of applications by asking the rest of the staff on our staff boards. You may also want to make sure the category you applied in is not still backlogged, check your spam filter to make sure you didn't just not get your rejection or approval, etc etc. We can only send out the approval (or rejection) and mark it as bounced on the update blog, but we can't do much once the email leaves our hands, then it's between your spam filter and you, I'm afraid. ^^;;