So I have a few "malfunction" notifications regarding light bulbs. In addition to the turn signals in my mirrors, I get the L. tail light, rear fog light, and a couple of others. So last night I went to O'Reilley and bought a couple of replacement bulbs.

When I go to replace the bulbs in the left tail light, they still don't work! I realized that there is a metal strip/lining which is missing from the tail light assembly and this metal strip conducts power to these bulbs, which have no electrical connectors just plug into these plastic things.

So can I buy a replacement metal strip or do I need a whole new tail light? I already have new bulbs

You don't need a new tailight
You need a good used tailight , they are cheap on eBay or Craigslist from people parting out cars

Take a second look at those metal strips, if they are missing ,there are probably clear signs of break. The problem is more often the white corrosion than a missing piece of metal.