Is Dhamma-thinking considered wise attention? According to AN 5.73 (translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu):


  "Then there is the case where a monk takes the Dhamma as he has heard
  &amp; studied it and thinks about it, evaluates it, and examines it with
  his intellect. He spends the day in Dhamma-thinking. He neglects
  seclusion. He doesn't commit himself to internal tranquillity of
  awareness. This is called a monk who is keen on thinking, not one who
  dwells in the Dhamma.


Another translation of AN 5.73 by Bhikkhu Sujato:


  Furthermore, a mendicant thinks about and considers the teaching in
  their heart, examining it with the mind as they learned and memorized
  it. They spend their days thinking about that teaching. But they
  neglect retreat, and are not committed to internal serenity of heart.
  That mendicant is called one who thinks a lot, not one who lives by
  the teaching.


Is Dhamma-thinking considered yoniso manasikara or wise attention or appropriate attention? Please explain your answer.

If yes, then why is it not useful, without internal tranquility of awareness (cetosamatham)?

If no, then what is needed to upgrade Dhamma-thinking to wise attention? What is it missing?
Yes, if that Dhamma-Thinking is arising continuously without five strings, without five hindrances, and with understanding the real reality, more than trillion times in a second, with it's real relation.
However, most people are thinking of Dhamma with five hindrances in between because they have not enough concentration meditation power, so their mind can't meditate to the end, Nibbāna.