I have made several million gil just cutting down trees and selling the lumber (done from carpentry). Willow and Oak sell the best in my opinion.

To find suitable armor I use a site called Yellow Gremlin (http://ffxiv.yg.com/). I wouldnt get armor that is 5 ranks above your rank. If you do then you will not get all the stats that piece gives you, if you do get a higher ranking armor you only get a portion of those stats.

Selling all the drop you get from mobs is good...if you are not crafting. On that site I posted earlier there are recipes, it will tell you what you need and where to get them (they also tell you an estimated price to sell items in your bazaar). So if you are not willing to craft then sell'em I say.

As for lag...yes we all have that problem. It is not as bad as when I first started when the game was released.

What servers are you guys on? If you are on Trabia I would be happy to help and assist you. I could even invite you to our linkshell, we are always happy to help new players with our experienced members.