My question is, does the JSP have to be packaged in a WAR file INSIDE an EAR file for this to work? it is currently not packaged at all.
No it does not have to be in an EAR file.
If you are using "java:comp" (the ENC for the web components), you also need a jndi link in you deployment descriptor. You could opt to skip
java:comp and hit the jndi link directly.