Electrical woes & Hot switches/bulbs

[Jonathan Monetti <jmonetti@us.net>]

hey gang,

everything seems to be hitting at once, and i'm sure that's no
comincidence.  

my old headlight switch (drum type) took a dive after getting so hot as to
melt the plastic housing that plugs into it.  i replaced, and voila!
lights all around again.  however, i noticed it was still getingt very
warm, sometimes hot, to the touch when the lights are on.  The other day
(at the inspection station, of course) I lost the rear parking lamps.  
took the car home, cleaned the connections at the switch , and all was
fine again. But it's still hot as hell.

Also, I have been burning out bulbs like mad.  And they're not just burnt
out, but they are *smoked*.  Looks like a small war went on inside the
bulb.

So over the weekend, I checked and cleaned all my connections (at least
the ones that don't require major heroics) and replaced my severly worn
voltage regulator.  All lights burning brightly then.

This morning, i lost a headlight on the way to work, my headlight switch
is almost untouchable form the heat, as is the spot above the backlight
for the heater controls and the ashtray light.

What gives?  Where is all this resistance coming from?  and being an
electrical nincompoop, how do i find out? 

TIA   

Jonathan "The Volt" Monetti
86 CGT 122k & burning brightly