you might need AP to come back.

You might need to use AP to get back. I had similar experience before. I had to come back with AP and change my status completely to AOS. From what I heard, it would be worse if you come back with F1 as F1 invalidate I-485 pending status. Although I am not sure about that, do you really want to take this risk?
It is easy to apply for AP. You still have 2-3 months to get AP approved. Mine only took 3 weeks.