Hey @gabe I started on a short scale Ibanez for a year whilst learning, then bought a Fender MIM P Bass.
I’ve played it for the past two years and at no point did I think ‘these pickups suck’. Maybe it’s my crappy hearing but I’ve posted a bunch of covers and the thing that still needs work is my timing, not swapping out the pickups IMHO.
I’d encourage you to get a strap. This takes care of a lot of the neck dive issues and as you improve standing up whilst playing is good for you.
Gear is cool, but practicing is cooler. Get stuck into playing it 
You can get some ideas from this video and thread.
