To repeat the pertinent part of the FOPA citation:
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during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle:
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Stop. So far, nothing has been said about anything being in ANY container, and certainly not in a locked container. So far, the FOPA says neither the firearm nor the ammunition can be accessible from the passenger compartment. Which, in the case of transporting in an SUV or inside a pickup simply cannot be met. So, they added a special case:
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Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.
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If you drive a vehicle with a separate trunk, even if you have both the firearm AND the ammo in locked containers you still can't transport them inside the passenger compartment. They might not be "readily" accessible if locked, but they are "directly" accessible. The locked container part is a special case applicable only to certain vehicles.
However, my initial point (several posts up) was that NJ changed "or" to "and," so for travel through NJ your understanding of the law is the only one that would work. (Except for that pesky clause in the FOPA that says 'the laws of any state notwithstanding," or however they phrased it. I would not want to argue that point with a NJ trooper on the side of the NJ Tpke.))