Hey, I'm glad you've been enjoying the game.
There were two version changes yesterday due to bugfixes and updates. Is it possible that you refreshed during those changes? (Some changes require me to change the save version which forces a reset)
As for not being able to acquire life essence after rebirth, that is a bug that should have been fixed on the last update. You shouldn't run into that issue going forward.
If you continue to have these issues, or have any others, please don't hesitate to let me know. A lot of the bugs I find are from players who report them and it helps a ton to get them fixed quicker!