well apparently the 2 are related, and, im an idiot. I went to leave today and the exact same thing happened, except this time when i plugged the fuse back in, the compressor didnt kick on. so i glanced over at the iat sensor and realized it was unplugged. i plugged it back in, and the compressor immediately kicked on.
a few days ago i changed my oil. along with that i checked my air filter, and to get it out i completely remove that piece of rubber the IAT sensor is in, to make getting to the filter much easier. i obviously forgot to plug it back in.
after doing some reading, i learned that a/c units use an ambient air temp sensor. some vehicles dont have those and just go off the IAT sensor.
