New 4x4 Owner Questions

Greetings all...just purchased a 88 Chevy 1500 4x4, and have some new guy questions:
1.  What is the proper way to engage the 4-wheel drive?
2.  The indicator lights on the selector panel are all lit, no matter what position the selector is in.  Any ideas?  Not sure if the 4-wheel drive is engaged as well.  What is the best way to tell?  Also, any ideas on how to correct this problem?  

As you can see, I am very new to the world of 4x4 ownership.

Thanks in advance for any assistance/suggestions.  

hiya! i usually slow down to 10 mph and pull back on the shifter some times there is grind, sometimes no, you can stop before the mudhole/rock pile/sippy hole and engage the tcase. dont go down the road in 4 high...your wallet wont like it, gas and wear and tear n such. even onb wet pavement it will bind. ya got dirt?
go out engage the four wheel drive and peel out, you will feel all the wheels pull instead of just a one wheel tire fire. if ya got it engaged your gonna feel a thump upon working.
remember though, your fourby has a high center of gravity, so, you can hurt yourself really fast by thinking hte stiff suspension is like a sports cars.
better all terrain or mud terrain tires will enhance the experience! no need to go all go gnarly on the tread yet but look at where and what kind o terain your gonna be on most, street? or on the back 40?
happy wheelin to ya!  

Right now i am running some Uniroyal Liberators bought at Walmart and they have great traction, no road noise and are hardly worn at all after a bunch of miles. Good luck and have fun! Oh yeah, do yourself a favor and buy a long heavy chain with good hooks for those times when u do get stuck.  

get a buddy to stand outside of your truck on a dirt road and take off kind of fast and have him watch the front wheels to see if they spine when you take off is the easiest way i know to tell if your front end is engaged  

Found out the 4-wheel drive is definitely working.  Disconnected the indicator switch on the front diff and the indicator lights for that part of the drive went out.  Suspecting either a bad or stuck switch, and plan to do a little more troubleshooting.

Thanks for the suggestions.