What are some general issues i can improve on? I've looked at aphromoo and picked up thresh (btw i really like thresh) and have gotten great with him, some team members won't initiate when i grab a good hook on the enemy carry, but i digress. What are some champions i can currently abuse to climb in solo queue and what are some solid pointers to work on?
I feel like you're at the elo where playing more supportive champions like thresh would be viable. If you were lower, I would say play more carry supports like brand.
Generally, communication is key in the support role. Letting your adc know when to freeze or when to push can be helpful as they have a tendency to mindlessly push when ahead. Also, you should be taking advantage of level spikes and communicating that to your adc. Let them know you wanna go in at lvl 2 and pinging when you are one minion away from leveling up so they are on the same page. Taking advantage of spikes like that can make a huge difference in the lane.
Also, you probably already know this but warding is key. Not just warding your lane, but using your pressure advantage to get a deep ward in the enemy jungle, and using your map awareness to ping their jungle when your ward spots them out, as most people have shit awareness and won't notice it.
