gear to aim for, minus the insulting each other

[Almalexia]

Storm Sergeant (with Sanction) > Garuda > Ifrit > Storm Sergeant (without Sanction)

Looking at your current gear, Garuda may be the superior choice due to ACC. Otherwise, you'll have to lose an accessory (neck or ring) for ACC.

[Ruisu]

Ifrit > Storm Sergeant (without Sanction)

This is incorrect. The Ifrit base attack is 131 with 39.69 DPS. Storm Sergeants, even without sanction, are 132 with a 40.00 DPS. While the difference is small, the hooks still superior to the Ifrit claws.

Also, I wouldn't say the GC gear is superior to Garuda claws, at all. The Garuda claws may have a lower base attack, but since most MNK damage comes from your weapon skills, that 41.07 DPS is more important. Along with having the ACC boost. You really shouldn't even need to put INT on your weapon, anyways.

[Almalexia]

This is incorrect. The Ifrit base attack is 131 with 39.69 DPS. Storm Sergeants, even without sanction, are 132 with a 40.00 DPS. While the difference is small, the hooks still superior to the Ifrit claws.

Also, I wouldn't say the GC gear is superior to Garuda claws, at all. The Garuda claws may have a lower base attack, but since most MNK damage comes from your weapon skills, that 41.07 DPS is more important. Along with having the ACC boost. You really shouldn't even need to put INT on your weapon, anyways.

You are overestimating the value of DPS in WS calculation. DPS is used to improve WS damage so that lower delay/lower damage weapons like Garuda remain competitive against weapons with higher DMG/higher delay, not mop the floor with them. While it's true most MNKs will see 60 WS:40 AA damage in an ordinary fight and 70:30 in an extraordinary fight, this doesn't mean a weapon should be reduced to its DPS stat. There are other ways to increase WS damage--things the community has quantified.

40 INT is enough to send any MNK in AF head to the known INT cap. I understand you don't need INT from your weapon, but this is a transitional weapon until OP obtains INT from other sources.

Which is best for OP right now? That depends on the rest of his gear. If OP were to plop one of the two into his weapon slot as he is geared now, I would say Garuda is better for the sake of ACC. However, for overall damage, he would get the most improvement from sanctified GC hooks and ACC in one of the accessory slots. If Sanction is lost, he can fall back on Garuda or hooks as they are (I suppose it's too bold to claim Ifrit is better than unsanctioned hooks, or vice-versa, in any practical sense; for the sake of inventory space, lose Ifrit once you get hooks.)

[charlemagne]

One quick addition. I see a lot of monks making up a few points with food. I do it myself. If you can try to be in the position where you are making up the INT from food rather than the STR. Eft steaks for INT come with more +ATT than the smoked raptor for STR. Obviously the two stats are more important than the ATT until you reach cap but if you can reach the same totals using either food then the extra ATT will help.