Headlight Switch problems of the 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt

Headlights periodically remain on, regardless of whether I try to manually turn them on or off. In addition, sometimes when I use the high beams and try to turn them off, the low beams will not come back on. After turning the car on and off, tapping on the fuse box, switching in and out of gears and turning the lights on and off repetitively, everything generally will start working properly again after 15 or 20 minutes. This has caused my battery to die several times and I can no longer walk away from my car without confirming the lights have turned off. Mechanics thought the problem was in the ignition switch, but replacement did not fix the problem. Several weeks ago I noted that the same make and model car had the same issue outside of my workplace.