It's probably worth throwing in the definition of gender dysphoria here. And that is that it involves clinically significant impairment. In short, it destroys your work life, your personal life, your ability to think and concentrate, your relationships, and wreaks havoc on your psyche. It's not something you contain by way of rational planning and careful approach. In fact, it is not containable.
I don't buy into the spectrum notion. One is either cross-sex identified or not. That doesn't mean that gender-related distress is confined to the cross sex identified. And gender distress, unlike gender identity, IS a sliding scale, ranging from quite mild to quite serious (impairment). One combination of identity and distress is male identity coupled with moderate cross-gender expression pressure. The need for expression extends beyond the closet but not to full-time presentation (much less hormones or transition) and the desire for and otherwise normal male life. The result is moderate to intense cross-dressing.
The person who is not cross sex identified and whose distress rises to levels of serious impairment is rare. Transition can be just as valid for those few as for the cross sex identified transsexual. That leaves two directionally correct possibilities. The first is that you actually are transsexual (I'm not going to quibble over the term here) and exhibiting a few of the symptoms – common symptoms – of those in the early stages of breaking dawn. The responses from the TS members consist mostly of warnings against this possibility because of your protests. The vehemence and nature of your protests, however, suggest the second possibility more strongly, which is that you are a guy with strong cross-dressing needs. If so, more power to you. (A nod here to the citation of Betty, however.)
Despite the noise on this topic WAY too frequently, none of the TS here cares whether you or anyone else is as trans or more trans than anyone else. I can assure you that none of us derive our meaning and importance in life from this forum! Should it disappear tomorrow, it will be as though it were never here at all, but for a few close friends. (For It is among and between us that the important stuff occurred.)
As a practical matter, and I know this will appeal to Kaitlyn, I quote a former manager:
The first priority is solve the problem.
The second priority is Solve The Problem.
The third priority is SOLVE THE F'IN PROBLEM!
It is no surprise at all to learn that he had little taste for theoretical digressions. They tend to get in the way of, well, solving the problem… That said, don't protest that you dislike the advice of people who have solved a very serious problem. It's not coming from theory, much less competitive BS. It's coming from brutal experience. That it may not be your problem is fine. May you be spared trying to clear a train wreck with tweezers.