Brake lights stay on...always

[RandallTom]

Hi. I have a 1987 F350 CC LB 6.9 4 speed 2wd. A while back I noticed that the brake lights would randomly turn on, so I disconnected the old worn out trailer brake controller that was in it when I bought it and that fixed it for a while. Recently the lights started doing it again. If I tapped the brake then they would shut off, and if I waited a while they might shut off on their own. Well I drove the truck a couple hundred miles last weekend and by the time I got back the brake lights never shut off. If the ignition is off and I turn on one of the turn signals then that side will shut off but the other side will stay on. However if I tilted the column up and down then there is a spot where they shut off. Well to make a short story long, I think there is a wire in the column that is shorted out or I have a bad turn signal arm. I tried pulling the flasher relay to see if it was shorting across it, no luck. So basically does my thought on it being in the column sound legitimate? If so, how do I start pulling apart the column to find out?
Thanks,
Tom