Should I wait for my promotion or change jobs now, I can't guarantee what my manager says he is too much by the books type of manager that follows the rules without consideration.

Wait till the result is out. When in doubt, always ask

Change job.
I was "clearly in need for a promotion for my skillset" (manager quotation) and hey, i got fired because some accountant decided to relocate budget and my project ended up being cancelled.

And in top of that by changing company you tend to get a higher salary.

@piratefox thanks for the input