I "discovered" (no pun intended) that the copper portion of the light socket was not touching the metal portion in a consistent manner which led to the intermittent behavior. I took a needle nose and pulled up the copper so it would touch the metal to complete the circuit all the time. No new parts required!

 

Yup, I did the same thing.
Order the new parts, trust me.

 

Now when I use my turn signal on the first blink a tow light on the cluster shows up. Is this normal?

 

Yes. At least mine does it.

 

Yes its normal, and if you have a trailer hooked up with lights it will flash with the turn signals to let you know that the trailer lights are working, unless the trailer has LED bulbs then it will not flash with the frailer turn signals.