The Nissan Path

So I have seen a lot of posts for these same issues, but I get the end of most of them with no conclusion. Lots of, look at this look at that, but doesn't seem to be, hey this is what fixed my issue. I am having the same as a lot of people with the steering wheel shake and when I hit a bump the wheel darts left or right depending. I have about 76000 miles on it and the fronts are fairly new, lots of good tread left. Hate the BFG's. I have the sway bar bushings but haven't installed them yet. I have read about tie rod ends, sway bar bushings, shocks, struts, steering rack. I did just replace the passenger front wheel bearing. And have not had it aligned yet. So, what has worked for getting rid of most of the shake/dart in the wheel for you?

Alignment has always worked for me when I get the "jumping". Since buying it, I've had to align it at least every six months. I also had a period a couple years ago that I couldn't keep it aligned and it went WAY off and really wore the outside of my front tires in just a couple months. Luckily, for some reason it's been fine for almost a year now. Tires are wearing good too so I've just left it alone. I do drive some rough roads and light off-road regularly for work, so I always just assumed it was getting knocked out from that. I need to replace my front struts but I'm afraid to mess with the alignment now!

replace any worn or damaged parts and adjust/align the rest
go to an alignment shop with a good reputation
alignment isn't rocket science, but it seems hard to find a competent person who can do a proper job of it

I will prob start with shocks and struts. Any link for how to do the front struts?