Um...

I don't entirely have an answer for you, only to say that I was experiencing the reverse problem. Which is to say, my GPS is always on, my shiny new "location" toggle was on, but Google Maps couldn't find me for sh*t, and when I finally switched to Waze, it up and told me that my GPS was actually off.

Cruising along the freeway at 65, I un-toggled the "Location" toggle, then re-toggled it. It asked if I wanted to use Google Location Services (which, I was pretty sure, was the only thing I'd been using, since my map apps weren't getting any GPS data). I said "yes." Then bam -- gps on, location on, apps could actually navigate me to where I want to go.

OH!!!

After typing that, I actually found an answer for you.

Settings > More > Location > Mode.

Under Mode, you get radio buttons. I want "High accuracy"; you want "Power saving."