Welcome. Thanks for giving us a try.

>Firstly, I think I might just be 'doing it wrong' when it
>comes to trying to level up. I read up on the ranking guide
>and have been using those areas primarily, but I seem to have
>to rest between every kill, which takes a long time. It might
>be that is right, but I'm at that stage where I mostly want to
>just be sure I'm not making something harder than it needs to
>be.

Mages have a hard time leveling by themselves. Getting into a group with a melee class of some kind (paladin, warrior, assassin, ranger, etc.) is your best bet. If that's not possible (I know it's hard to find a group sometimes) you might want to buy a mercenary in one of the major towns like Galadon, Udgaard, or Hamsah Mu'tazz. You can have them rescue you (for a while, though they might die if they are too fragile) and while you are resting, have them sleep too. If you have a mercenary in your group and are alone, you get an exp bonus much like having a second person in your group.

>Second, when browsing I read that AC isn't that important. Are
>there caveats to that (like if you have x skills etc) or is it
>just a general rule of thumb that you should not worry about
>it that much?

As a general rule, I never worry about AC. Some players keep tabs on it when they are below level 15 or so, but in general it doesn't do much on CF. If you have an extremely good AC, lower level mobs will "miss" you a lot. As a mage, I'd recommend gearing for HP above anything else.

>Lastly, is there a way for me to get a wield item to parry
>with and not give up my shocking grasp and similar? Or are
>those a trade off kind of thing. I tried a bunch of the basic
>weapons but none seemed to work. So am guessing the latter.

I'm assuming you are an invoker. If you want to use the touch spells as an invoker, you can't be wielding a weapon.

Good luck, and don't get too concerned about dying!