Former employer I did work for will not be issuing 1099's this year, they said to use the information from the prior year and will be filing a 1096 with the IRS soon.

Yes, you must report your income and yes, you can file a tax return without form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. You mentioned "your employer". An employer should issue W-2 Forms not 1099-NEC forms.

• The 1099-NEC form specifically reports Non-employee Compensation (independent contractor).
• Please see Does a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC mean I'm self-employed?

Form 1096 is the Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns. If he didn't give you any forms, what is he transmitting?

For a W-2: Employers must complete, file electronically or by mail with the Social Security Administration (SSA), and furnish to their employees Form W-2, Wage and Tax StatementPDF showing the wages paid and taxes withheld for the year for each employee. Because employees' social security and Medicare benefits are computed based on information on Form W-2, it's very important to prepare Form W-2 correctly and timely.

Please see the IRS article: Here's what taxpayers should do if they have missing or incorrect documents.