here's what I did, may it help you or someone in the future:
var dataM = {
data: tmpJSON,
location: "local",
sorting: "local",
paging: (tmpJSON.length <= 10 ? null : "local"), //hide paging if 10 or less results
dataType: "JSON"
};
var grid1 = $("div#gridContainer").pqGrid({
dataModel: dataM ...