It happens to be right for your proposed routing based on current schedules. The rule is distance is measured for each flight, which could include a landing but not a transit. If there is a single flight number that will shorten the distance. For example JFK-HKG is the distance, even though it goes JFK-YVR-HKG. You want to go DFW-LAX-HKG-AKL-HKG-LAX-HNL-DFW and every one of those sectors is a separate flight number, thus a separate mileage calculation. All you have to do is to talk AA into making LAX-HNL-DFW a single flight number, and you'd be all set (and spend only a few hours in HNL as a stopover is not allowed without increasing the mileage).