Looking to get back up to speed in 2.0

Hey all, I've played WoT on and off for over a decade now, and I'm looking for a quick primer to get back up to speed after a lengthy hiatus. I have a 52.6% winrate after over 7k games so I'm not necessarily new, just very much out of date. So some quick questions:

First one you'd expect, where might I go for my free line? The "newest" nation I dipped my toes into is the French, so I haven't touched anything Czech, Polish, Swedish, Italian, Japanese, or Chinese. I've gone at least to tier VIII in T110E5, T57 Heavy, Sheridan, Jagdpanzer, IS-7, IS-4, Obj. 430U, Obj. 140, K-91, AMX 50B, AMX M4 54, Batchat, and AMX 13 105 lines, so those are out of the question.

I've found my sweet spot to be mediums that are on the scouting side - I don't like the fidgety nature of lights but I do enjoy spotting and being fast enough to take + hold aggressive positions. So I think in terms of priority I'd like a medium with good gun depression/turret armor in order to spot and poke from front positions. From the research I did I feel the CS-63 or the STB 1 fit the bill but I'm curious if there's any other standouts. Bonus if it can go light on the gold spam but I know you can't have it all.

Second question, what does end game look like? I'm sure clan wars are still there, but is there anything else for tir X & XI to do other than those and random battles? Just curious on what the "competitive" side of the game might look like.

And finally, are there any standout bond tanks that are good for credit farming? I'm okay with different play styles since the goal is just to make money. Way back in the day I splurged for the FCM 50t and absolutely loved farming with it, but I hear it's a horrific tank these days. I'm not planning on buying premium so I know I'll need to rely heavily on premium grind to afford these tier Xs I'm approaching.

Thanks so much to anyone who took the time to read and help out, cheers!