Mid 30s shaman questions

[Beer]

Hey guys just dinged 34 and was wondering what the gameplan should be for soloing my way higher. I'm geared in decent low cost shaman gear (only two spots left with banded) and have 2 ac/hp rings and a PWC. Up to 34 ive been hasting/regening myself, slowing the mob, and hammering away with the PWC. Im starting to notice now that its a bit less efficient as mobs are hitting harder that are DB now. With the new pet/nuke/scourge, would i be better off root rotting and sending in teh dog when mobs are 50% or still just hammer away with PWC until stuff really starts pounding me? Also have about 3k to spend if i needed any must have items to buy or save for (thanks for the long swords elf hos!)