bard melee and tanking isn't very good till a few expansions after that at least, and if you have adequate gear that you acquired yourself at 46, you're probably looking to get torn up fast in that content.
but that just makes things interesting.
i recommend play styles where you don't get hit. charming, chant kiting, swarming, these are your most powerful tactics. If you like fear kiting, this is your last chance to use it pretty much, though it never suited me personally. But in a few levels, there won't be much use for it any more.
Even post ae kite nerf, dulaks is still a kite haven, so many different styles work there, I love using charm to swarm or just cause some chaotica with. Nadox would be a good spot after that.
If you want to hunt pop specifically, I'd hit pod at 46, not poj. Whoever told you PoJ probably wasn't a bard. Plane of Disease is an outdoor zone with a lot of wide open space. Charm, chant, even fear. It's a bit drabby looking though. Plane of Disease looks like a muddy water faucet up and to the right of when you come out of the building with the book, up the hill, you simply jump in and drop into the zone. The zone out is right where you zoned in at, there's a square stone lifted off the ground, click on it, and it opens up and you fall through back to plane of tranquility.
Plane of Nightmare has a ton of kiting opportunity as well, be aware almost everything there sees invis. Zone out is a tombstone inside the building by the graveyard you zone in at, and another across the river behind the grassy hedge maze.
For a few levels you'll probably have to rely on charm or kite tactics when you solo. At 55 start looking into don, and maybe dod, i forget what level that begins at. Both will upgrade your gear tremendously and ridiculously well even.
If you have the new expansion TSS, man, there are some level 20 quests that would have upgraded me when I was where you were at. They're really offering some super fun quests, with some very updated rewards, lower level, but comparable to the goodies with the new expansions. Flowing Thought can come from easy quests here, and here's a 25 quest with a weapon reward I would have KILLED for at level 65 back in the day lol Treantwood Staff http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=52178
Welcome back, be inventive is the best advice I can think of, and let us know how it goes!