Iphoto stuck on importing photos, stopping all computer downloads

I had a large photo import from my phone and tried to stop it because it wasn't finishing. So there has been an import "in progress" for weeks. I can't download any updates or software, I cannot close iPhoto because it says "photos are being imported to the library" but i'm not anymore. This is the second time this has happened and the apple support guy helped me get it reset but apparently I'm not covered anymore. How can I make it stop?