Crap Shooters ~ is it possible to really control the dice by setting them up a certain way before you toss?

Up to a point. You can set things up so that some combinations are more likely, if there is nothing to add a certain degree of randomness. Playing backgammon, for example, I can hold the dice in a certain way, to be more likely to get what I need in a throw than most people do (not always, but far too often for most people's comfort).

That's why street craps requires that you hit the wall for the throw to count, and why crap tables have their pass line, which usually means bouncing the dice off the far side of the table. With that bounce, the probability of setting up the dice (other than using loaded dice) to get a high probability of a certain number is extremely low, no matter how carefully you throw or set up the dice before throwing.

control is an awfully vague word

the "wall" of a craps table is textured to defeat such attempts.

No