Whoa, wait a second. What are the laws here? In Oregon, the landlord had thirty days to get it back, period. If they didn't refund your deposit or send you an itemized list of what repairs your deposit went toward, they had to refund the entire thing. They couldn't go back and say, "well, actually, I still need to fix x, y, and z".
Isn't there something like that here? If so, let him know you're aware of the law, and unless every penny of your deposit is returned you'll be taking him to small claims.
Sorry if that sounds harsh... I'm in an awful mood right now, and I've been jacked around by one too many landlords before. They aren't allowed to pull this crap.