If you're willing to cut a wire, you just cut one coming out out the relay on it's way to the headlight pods (don't have to do both, if one is inop, neither will work I believe), route it to a switch and then back again, effectively disabling the headlight motors. This is how it is in my car. So, pod switch off, turn on running lights, no pop up, turn on headlights, they shine on the ground, since the motors are disabled, turning on the pod switch at any time (running lights or headlights on) and they will pop up, they will only go down if you turn off all lights. Not ideal but at least you can drive around with running lights and not have your pods up. Be cool to control a bit more and even control one at a time to "wink", which has been done and documented, I remember reading.
In my case, the PO had installed TWO switches, one for each pod, even though you can't control them independently (he didn't know that I guess) I did not know this and was pulling my hair out truing to get the pods to work, then I happened to throw the right combination of switches and figured it out. The two switched made it worse since if even just one was off, neither pod functioned. At least that's how I remember it. I'll have to go look and see which wire you can 'intercept". If don't want to cut it you could probably pull it out of the relay and add in a switch.
I want to go back and do it Bob's way though!!
Any chance you still have those old pictures?