by bluesheep
I am by no means an expert player, so the only thing I can think of is to point you towards more self-study materials available in the forums here:1. Get a look on DocCool's excellent opening statistics and in particular watch out for comments of old foxes like Petri, CTKshadow, SpaceTrucker (and a whole bunch I forgot) and all the newer TMLeague winners (Steve, Dhrun) [sorry for all the usernames I butchered/mispelled].
2. Try watching some games from past TMLeague seasons. I would start by going to division 1 and keep an eye out for players that play with factions you are already comfortable with. Try to spot how the pro's play diverges from your own and from there move on to factions you have less experience with. Some of the additional skills you deduce this way might be generally applicable and not tied to a certain faction.
3. Since you mentioned the basic guide: try to actively break some of the heuristic rules you learned there and open your mind to more creative play. In particular start experimenting with income favors.
4. Set aside an afternoon and browse the strategy section of the forum here. There is a lot of wisdom to be found - once again watch out for comments by the pros.