"If you are working out basic chords FIND THE BASS NOTES FIRST. They will point to the correct chords."

Absolutely! That's the whole point of studying and understanding 'Music Theory"... :P)


"chord changes tend to occur on strong beats"

For certain styles of music.

"which would be the first and third count in 4/4 time, meaning that the chord on the second beat is going to be the same as the chord on the first beat" etc

There are music styles in which 'vamping' occurs, in that the first beat is a 'root chord' and the offbeat or second etc beats are harmonically related, such as the relative 5th to the 'root chord'.

There are also 3/4 pieces in which alternate bars do the same trick.