I have a grantor trust with its own EIN number. Am I required to file a 1041 and grantor letter for this trust? Or is this optional and I just file income on 1040?

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"Am I required to file a 1041 and grantor letter for this trust?"

If you gave all payers (e.g., brokers, banks, etc) of income the EIN of the trust and those payers are reporting using that EIN, then you have to file a 1041 for the trust - as a grantor trust, of course.

See https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1041#idm140630131825216