Well....I'm still working on my first linklist, and I'm a newbie too, so don't take this as gospel by any stretch
But I've never had a freesite rejected for sponsor content.
I think a lot of it depends on which sponsor. Using content from, say, Bangbros or AllInternal probably wouldn't work, but smaller sponsors that don't have their stuff everywhere seem to be okay.
But Sue, don't look at all the content you purchased as a waste. You'll never have to remove it because BigPornoPimpingCash decided to redirect, or shave you, or close down. All you'd have to do is switch out the links! Those of us using sponsor content would risk getting all our sites deleted, if not getting blacklisted, if we had to pull the site. Really, your own content is a much better alternative as an affiliate, because it puts you in control. If I could afford to buy three tons of it, I would.
tb -- are you sending hits to the full month option or the trial option for that site?