My understanding is that AAV packages where the flight has the asterisk still posts by distance. We've certainly had some AAV flights post by distance since the change to LP. We've not done one in a bit, but I am assuming that this has not changed. The "added component" is the car or hotel which complicates extraction of the price for the flights.
Cheers.
Getting off topic but the I'm not talking about the change to LP, I'm taking about the change to AAV earlier this year. I believe that you earn 5 miles per dollar spent on the package (less with no status) and nothing else. Furthermore, all passengers must have AA accounts and the 5 miles/dollar are split evenly between all travelers. The terms mention that the flight will post as 0 and you will later get miles for the package price. It's a little confusing but I'm pretty sure that all AAV flights earn 0 no matter what.