I have a 1998 Ford Ranger, and one night discovered that my headlights no longer turn on. Months before, the knob to the headlights switch broke off and I have been using a pair of pliers to turn on and off the headlights, and I think this has something to do with it.
The parking lights and turn signals work. The Highbeams flash works, but not the toggle, so when I drive around at night I have to hold the turn signal lever back so I atleast have some lights (better to be rude and shine highbeams into everyone's face than to be illegal and drive without lights). I have checked all the associated fuses and none of them are blown. I went to a dealership and asked about a new switch, and found it to be 70$, so I would like to know if there is something more likely to be causing the problem than the switch its self.

[EagleAutosports]

Nope, it's the switch. No way around it either, get a new switch.