I acquired a lieutenant armor and helmet but that set is not in the forge so i can not upgrade it....

You can't upgrade them as you don't have enough Crimson Gold. The game only gives you enough to make two pieces and have a little left over.

There is a trick to accessing the Lieutenant Gear. You have to get rid of Steel slowly while leaving The game and then coming back into the game, clicking on the icon over the armory until the lieutenant gear populates instead of the sergeant gear. It takes a while but once you get your still level low enough it will populate and you can craft it. Also you must have crimson gold to craft it