Output from a Skipped Step Used as a Parameter Causes error=requeue and Workflow hangs

### Pre-requisites

- [x] I have double-checked my configuration
- [x] I have tested with the `:latest` image tag (i.e. `quay.io/argoproj/workflow-controller:latest`) and can confirm the issue still exists on `:latest`. If not, I have explained why, **in detail**, in my description below.
- [x] I have searched existing issues and could not find a match for this bug
- [ ] I'd like to contribute the fix myself (see [contributing guide](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-workflows/blob/main/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md))

### What happened? What did you expect to happen?

In a `steps`: workflow, referencing the output parameter of a step that may be skipped causes the workflow to hang or repeatedly requeue. This occurs when the skipped step’s output is used inside another step’s `arguments`: or `when`: clause

This behavior matches a reported issue for DAG workflows, but issue remains reproducible for steps

### Version(s)

v4.0.4

### Paste a minimal workflow that reproduces the issue. We must be able to run the workflow; don't enter a workflow that uses private images.

```YAML
piVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Workflow
metadata:
generateName: skipped-stage-example-steps-
spec:
entrypoint: main
arguments:
parameters:
- name: run-stage-b
value: "false"

templates:

- name: main
inputs:
parameters:
- name: run-stage-b
steps:

# Step A always runs
- - name: stage-a
template: stage-a

# Step B runs only when run-stage-b == "true"
- - name: stage-b
template: stage-b
when: "{{= inputs.parameters['run-stage-b'] == 'true' }}"

# NEW: Stage C runs only if stage-b ran AND output == "hello from stage B"
- - name: stage-c
template: stage-c
when: "{{= steps['stage-b'].outputs.parameters['output-message'] == 'hello from stage B' }}"

# Stage D always runs, even if stage-b was skipped
- - name: stage-d
template: stage-d
arguments:
parameters:
- name: message-from-a
value: "{{steps.stage-a.outputs.parameters.output-message}}"
- name: message-from-b
value: "{{steps.stage-b.outputs.parameters.output-message}}"

# -------------------------
# STAGE A
# -------------------------
- name: stage-a
outputs:
parameters:
- name: output-message
valueFrom:
path: /tmp/output.txt
container:
image: alpine:3.18
command: [sh, -c]
args: ["echo 'hello from stage A' | tee /tmp/output.txt"]

# -------------------------
# STAGE B (optional)
# -------------------------
- name: stage-b
outputs:
parameters:
- name: output-message
valueFrom:
path: /tmp/output.txt
container:
image: alpine:3.18
command: [sh, -c]
args: ["echo 'hello from stage B' | tee /tmp/output.txt"]

# -------------------------
# STAGE C (conditional)
# -------------------------
- name: stage-c
container:
image: alpine:3.18
command: [sh, -c]
args:
- |
echo "stage-c ran because stage-b output matched the expected value"

# -------------------------
# STAGE D (always runs)
# -------------------------
- name: stage-d
inputs:
parameters:
- name: message-from-a
- name: message-from-b
container:
image: alpine:3.18
command: [sh, -c]
args:
- |
echo "stage-d received: [{{inputs.parameters.message-from-a}}] and [{{inputs.parameters.message-from-b}}]"
```

### Logs from the workflow controller

```text
kubectl logs -n argo deploy/workflow-controller | grep ${workflow}

workflow-controller-5c69d51257-pbaxv time=2026-04-16T18:11:30.029Z level=ERROR msg="Failed to resolve references" error=requeue component=workflow_worker workflow=skipped-stage-example-steps-wxp9j namespace=argo stepName=stage-c

workflow-controller-5c69d51257-pbaxv time=2026-04-16T18:11:31.034Z level=ERROR msg="Failed to resolve references" component=workflow_worker workflow=skipped-stage-example-steps-wxp9j namespace=argo stepName=stage-c error=requeue

workflow-controller-5c69d51257-pbaxv time=2026-04-16T18:11:32.042Z level=ERROR msg="Failed to resolve references" workflow=skipped-stage-example-steps-wxp9j stepName=stage-c error=requeue namespace=argo component=workflow_worker

workflow-controller-5c69d51257-pbaxv time=2026-04-16T18:11:33.049Z level=ERROR msg="Failed to resolve references" workflow=skipped-stage-example-steps-wxp9j error=requeue namespace=argo stepName=stage-c component=workflow_worker
```

### Logs from in your workflow's wait container

```text
kubectl logs -n argo -c wait -l workflows.argoproj.io/workflow=${workflow},workflow.argoproj.io/phase!=Succeeded
```