The buttons only light up and do something when you click them. Why else would they be buttons?

They would have to be markers or something if they just stayed highlighted. This does not apply to the main menu though, since those are selections.... In the future, touchscreen mode will only highlite the button you touch as well. And only when you touch it. If you take your touch off, the button will go back to its "un pushed" state.
And what do you mean by the buttons don't work? Like, when you click them nothing happens? Buttons not working implies a lot of things. Also, having your touchscreen set up where instead of a touch equals a mouse click, set it up so that holding your finger on the screen is equivalent to holding down the mouse button.... Some buttons are designed to repeat (so you don't have to bang your finger against the screen over and over)...