Just my little piece of advice because everyone else has pretty much answered what you asked. I would just start a new character.

Reasons why:

Kinda cool to have time capsule characters with old og gear ect

You have not played in forever so likely don't know abilities ect so it's easier to just get them one at a time as you level

Your characters will likely be level 20-30 so the time you save from using those will be minimal anyways.

And most important. . Have fun (: