300 is a bit of an exaggeration, but ~150 is very real. A strength stacked 60 might hit 490, while a strength stacked 69 can reach numbers like 640. That is a considerable difference no matter how you spin it.
Very few bis items come from the ah. Wrists and rings are the only ones that come to mind for plate. Unless you’re talking about trading runs, but you should use the communities to have that lined up already.
Que as a tank, then set your loot to fury/arms/prot (whichever has less drops for the boss you’re after). You should have near instant ques for any dungeon you need to farm.
Any 59 twink guilds recruiting? Need a home for my paladin. Faction doesn’t matter...
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/character/bleeding-hollow/Belgarin
How long did it take you to farm your bracers?
Check out the Chitin Great Helm for the meta slot. The haste proc is insane...
The chest from Slave Pens will be an upgrade too. It’s not much, but it is more.