Congratulations on your first LD!
Dont worry about the control, that comes with time. Sometimes in my LD's i dont have FULL control, but expect to have it and you more than likely will

Reality checks can fail, its just your brain tricking you lol. damn thing! Have you tried the nose plug RC? I find it has never failed for me, may have for others but its one of the main RC's i use simply because of the success rate!!
Good luck on your future attempts!