Checked the wheres my refund for an update. it said to call the irs and mention code 9001. Curious what this is? And is there a way to verify who I am through TurboTax?

The IRS uses reference code 9001 to indicate a "Systemic error/issue". In other words, it's likely not a problem with your return. Take a deep breath, wait a day or two, then try again. The IRS won't start processing your return until at least January 28 anyway, even if they said it was accepted.

Yes, this means that the 9001 may not go away until we are closer to January 28th.