Similar to a mod, it fits in an Augment slot. These show up on critically crafted pieces (so if you aren't crafting them, you'll have to buy them from the GTN).

There is an option in your preferences to view companion details when you mouse over equipment. Also, I thought on the GTN you could set the "Usable By" to your companion and search that way.

To expand on this, you might be missing the bonus for a mission which is something like "Kill 0/18 Prison Guards/Wardens" and when you kill the 18 (or whatever) it may say "Stage 2" and "Kill 0/40" and when that is done you get a final stage which is usually "Kill X Elite and collect Y" and if you do that you drop off a Yellow item from the Elite at a mission drop box for even more exp and planetary commendations. All told those are worth a huge chunk of exp. Sorry if that's too verbose but it could be a big reason you've missed exp.

To add a bit to the above, in case the concept of rotation is unfamiliar: Every ability you have has a cooldown and there is also a global cooldown. You can see the individual ones via the tooltips for each of your abilities. The global one is fixed and kicks off whenever you trigger any ability. The idea behind the rotation is timing you abilities so you are always triggering something after each global cooldown. The order is important in that some abilities are instant, channeled, or have an activation time. I play a sage, now level 25, and if I'm running solo quests, here is what I'm usually doing: Start with Force Lift for crowd control. At this point you can send in Qyzen to draw threat and follow that with Mind Crush, which has activation time and is also a DOT (Damage over time). Follow with Weaken Mind. Then Telekinetic Throw (Channeled ability) and the Project. By the time Project is done, TT is usually ready again. For tougher mobs, like elites, using Force Stun, Force Slow, or putting Force Shield on Qyzen is a good idea.

Torhead lists the minimum level for quests. For Quesh, it looks like they are all min level 33.

He's also great at tellng you he can't make a shimmersilk purse from a Bantha's ear. Although I have to say he's done pretty well at the Underworld Trading missions - might be I've been lucky, though.

I would recommend torhead.com, as it's a searchable database by level and shows which are heroic, class specific, etc.

Great, thanks. I hate having to keep notes on my gear - it takes away from my limited play time.

When purchasing a mod from a vendor, is there any type of setting where you can see if the mod is an increase to what you already have? Or do you have to write down all of your currently active mods and do it that way?