In terms of upgrades (for my dk at least):
Weapon (t1 or t2)
--
Buy full Mal gear before upgrading the rest.
--
2250 Gear
Burst Trinket
1750 Gear
Equip Trinket (when you deal damage..chance to gain..) - Human Only
1250 Gear
Other Trinkets
Prioritize your highest secondary stats first, like my upgrade list for 2250 is Helm > Legs > Chest.
Oh yeah, sorry, I have full Mal, didn't really write that well. I would get t2/2 as a melee before you get anything else Honor -> Conquest to be honest. It's a huge upgrade.
After that, get full Conquest gear before upgrading.
okay just to get this straight, your list would be like this, correct?
buy Weapon (t1 or t2)
upgrade weapon to 2/2
--
Buy full Mal gear before upgrading the rest.
--
2250 Gear
Burst Trinket
1750 Gear
Equip Trinket (when you deal damage..chance to gain..) - Human Only
1250 Gear
Other Trinkets
---
start upgrading the rest to 2/2 , probably beginning with 2250's