im not sure what i should do at this point, im a level 8 in pre-sear and i have done about all the quest at abbey,ascalon, and fort ranik. im not sure what to do or where to go.
If you really want to explore, you can go to all the outposts. However, only a few of the quests are really essential. The one which gives you a skill point (you've already completed it) and the profession quests for your primary and secondary. After that its time to move on.
When I made my second character, pre-searing probably took me just over an hour to finish. I stayed there for a whole week with my ranger. Since you're level 8, you must have spent quite a lot of time there as well.