I ALWAYS nursed to sleep till LO was about 10-11 months old. I never sleep trained my LO, and now, half the time goes down without nursing. One day, I was nursing her, she wouldn't go to sleep, so I sat her in her crib to get some stuff done. She was talking to herself, next thing I know, she was sound asleep.
As soon as that happened, she went from waking up 2-3 times a night, to sttn, with the occasional wake up. Half the time I nurse her to sleep, the other half, I just sit her in her crib and tell her to 'lay down'. We practice teaching her to 'lay down' (with help from my DS) I would say 'Lay down Austin', and he would put his head on the pillow, etc. She would laugh/watch and try to do the same thing.
I believe nursing to sleep/sleep issues in general will work themselves out.... when your LO is ready.