'Fraid not. You just get a feel for it, after awhile...
If you go wide enough, you can "dissapear" any hump, by feathering out the transition.
Trowel's better for this than a drywall knife, as it's less flexible. See attached drawing... I don't really trust a drywall knife beyond 8"; anything wider, I go to a trowel.
As far as tape pulling off, it's most likely (90% odds) because you squeezed out too much of the mud under the tape. But it can also be from dust on the wall, or dust on the tape...
You'll also get better adhesion if you wet the tape before applying it. It slows the drying a little bit, and makes a low spot because of shrinkage, but it is the classic old-school way to do it.
The reason it's better to let the paper dry before you overcoat, is to let the mud under the tape dry thoroughly. Otherwise you risk shrinkage, later (you know when you have a perfectly smooth surface, except you can still see the "shadow" of your tape?).
Also, if there's a layer of damp compound at the bottom, but the surface seems dry, and you prime & paint... a month later the paint right over the tape seam, peels.
I've seen both those, often enough that I don't overcoat on the first pass anymore.
Of course, if you use setting compound (powder, comes in a bag), you can get the whole thing done in a day, regardless.