I am sure I can't bind MaxSelectedRecords, so what other options do I have to control the value of MaxSelectedRecords programmatically (not through code behind but through presentationmodel)?
Actually, it is possible to bind the MaxSelectedRecords property to an integer property in your viewmodel by injecting datacontext. In order to do this, you would have to set the Source to your viewmodel as a StaticResource in the binding e.g.
<igDP:FieldLayoutSettings
MaxSelectedRecords="{Binding Source={StaticResource YourViewModel},
Path=MaxSelectedRecords}"/>
Hope this helps.
Attached is a simple sample using MVVM Light framework that might be helpfull.