You aren't going to get moved to the bottom of the pile, and the people answering phones aren't the same ones working on paperwork, so you aren't slowing them down.
II don't have the number right on hand, but I know it is on the front page of NFATracker
This.
Tell them you want to check on the status of a Form 1. You will give them the serial # of the item and your name. They will tell if you if it went pending and you can ask the date. That's about all they can tell you, but it's nice to know if it's in the system. Also, the pending date can help you somewhat calculate when it will be approved, though it is not certain at all.
Mine went pending Feb 25 and the nice man at the atf said it will probably get to me in mid August. Kinda makes you wonder what they do in that time frame...
The 'sent it in then' and the 'it went pending then' dates are getting farther and farther apart. I just had a LE to dealer transfer that took nearly six weeks to go into Pending status.