I found some more information out.
Once I edit /etc/sysctl.conf
net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables=1
and run
systctl -p
I noticed an error
sysctl: error: 'net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables' is an unknown key
So after further reading, it appears even though bridge-nf would do what I need it to do, bridge netfilter support needs to be enabled in the kernel. So I will now be learning how to compile the openwrt kernel... <_<
Still seems strange to me that the INPUT and OUTPUT chains work...confusing
It seems that enabling bridge netfilter support in the kernel has created some performance issues and so it has been disabled by default.