This - this is the key annoyance for me. I just unlocked all of the allied races after about 70 hours of game play. One of the main reasons it took so long, is despite bliz clarification (Clarifying the Process for Unlocking Mechagnomes) you can no longer do the first part on Horde. I had to go back and do everything on an alliance alt, which I had to level first.
All the out dated guides and clarifications only add to the confusion and feel bads.
BtWQuests addon was a life saver for me though.