I'll let the more experienced people give you the specific build advice, but I'll chime in with my personal experience here; I have a level 50 elec melee/elec armor brute.
Yes, it does get better--my guy was pretty squishy up through about mid-twenties, too. At 50, with some IOs, he can stand toe-to-toe with an elite boss and barely take a scratch. You'll like Power Surge (and looking like a Cap-au-Diable gremlin when you do it).
You will never run out of endurance (so take and run all the toggles you want) and you can do a fair job sapping. I would definitely recommend the Mu patron powers to help with that. That's actually a big help staying alive in a tough fight--you might not be quite as damage-resistant as other types, but the enemies have no juice to hit you with.
Just my two cents. . .
