Whats wrong with my Harley flashers?

i bought an old Harley sportster (1984) from a guy who left it in a garage unkept for five years. I got everything running and working but have some flasher questions. A. are the flashers supposed to also act as running lights in conjunction with headlight, cause mine don't come on. B. i have to hold my flasher switch on to operate flashers, they don't stay on when switch is pressed, is this normal for older bikes or do i have faulty switches?